Most outpatient services will be closed during the holiday

Hospital schedule during the New Year holiday

The emergency departments and ambulance services at local hospitals will be open 24/7 during the three-day New Year holiday starting Thursday.

Barring a few, outpatient services will not be available during the holiday period at most hospitals from January 1. The WeChat accounts of the hospitals have released the holiday schedule.

Top hospitals like Ruijin, Zhongshan, and Renji will offer outpatient services on January 2 and 3.

Outpatient services at Huashan, Changhai, and Shanghai Sixth People's Hospitals will not be open on January 1 and 2.

On all three days, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Hospital will suspend outpatient services.

Parkway Jin Qiao Medical & Dental Center and Parkway Hong Qiao Medical Center will close on January 1, but Parkway Shanghai Hospital and MedCenter Xintiandi will remain open during the holiday period.

The outpatient departments of Jiahui International Hospital, Jing'an Clinic, and Yangpu Clinic will be closed on January 1.

The inpatient and emergency departments of Jiahui Hospital will remain operational throughout the holiday.

Shanghai United Family Hospital (Jing'an) stated that its pediatric sick child clinic will operate 24 hours a day during the holiday. The well baby clinic, flu vaccinations, and pediatric surgery, as well as obstetrics and gynecology services, will be available on January 2 and 3.

Additionally, the hospital's general services, including traditional Chinese medicine, mental health, family medicine, surgery, cardiology, and the eye clinic, will also be offered on those two days.

Most departments at Shanghai United Family Hospital (Changning) and (Pudong), along with the Quankou Clinic and Fengshang Clinic, will remain operational on January 2 and 3. The pediatric sick child clinic in both Changning and Pudong will continue to operate throughout the holiday.

Health alert

Flu season is still high in Shanghai, with H3N2 being the major virus strain.

The Shanghai Health Commission mandates daily monitoring of local public hospital emergency departments and fever clinics.

Children's emergency service and fever clinics have about 30-minute wait times.

The Shanghai Health Promotion Center has advised people to stay warm, wear masks in crowded places, ventilate, and wash their hands during the holiday period.

It also emphasized the need to ensure food safety and chronic disease management.

"The frequent gatherings and irregular life schedule during holidays and travel spread the virus. So people, especially those with underlying disease, weak immunity, children, elderly people, and pregnant women, must pay attention to hygiene and disease prevention and control," said Dr Wang Zhenwei of Shanghai Yueyang Hospital.