The outbreak in Guangzhou's Haizhu district is still treading upward and has not reached the turning point, said a senior health official from Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong province on Friday.

Haizhu, the hardest-hit district, recorded 9,008 infections on Thursday, highly concentrated at Kanglu in Fengyang sub-district, Datang in Nanzhou sub-district and Longtan in Huazhou sub-district, said Zhang Yi, deputy director and spokeswoman of Guangzhou city health commission on Friday.

Zhang urged relevant departments to continue to implement concrete and effective measures against the virus.

Priorities should be given to the management of high-risk groups and places, including schools, bus and metro stations, and nursing homes to shun cluster infections.

Special measures should be introduced to further strengthen the management on taxi drivers, couriers, takeout personnel, cleaning workers and related people who have a large mobility in movement and wide service scope, she added.

Residents are encouraged to maintain good health habits and wear masks, scan health codes and have body temperatures measured when they enter public venues and office buildings.

Guangzhou reported 9,244 infections on Thursday, of which 16 cases were detected at the community level.