Advanced technologies and digitalization are set to improve public health as evidenced from the exhibits at the public health and epidemic prevention exhibition zone, a newly-added section at this year's China International Import Expo, said Wu Jinglei, deputy director of the Shanghai Health Promotion Commission and director of the Shanghai Health Commission, on Friday.

Wu made the remarks during a live broadcast at the Healthy Shanghai Studio, the first large-scale live broadcast program on health topics set at the venue of the ongoing expo.

Residents' health awareness, understanding of the contagion, and cooperation have been important in Shanghai's experience of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic since early this year, Wu said.

Innovative medical products and technologies also play an important role, as seen in the city's preparation of an integral epidemic prevention and control plan to safeguard the opening of the CIIE this year, Wu added.

As the leading municipality in the Yangtze River Delta region, Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui signed a collaboration agreement on public health in June, aiming to further improve and standardize health service available to all residents in the region.

As part of the efforts, the Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai) Internet Hospital has been put into operation recently. Based on technologies of cloud computing, big data, internet of things, artificial intelligence, and 5G, such new medical service will better satisfy medical service needs from residents in the core area of the delta region's integrated development, which covers Shanghai's Qingpu district, Wujiang district in Suzhou city, and Jiashan county in Jiaxing city, Wu said.