SHANGHAI — A total of 100 museums in Shanghai will offer free entry to medical staff across the country this year as a way to thank all the doctors and nurses for their work on the frontline of the COVID-19 epidemic, local authorities have announced.

Also, 87 museums in Shanghai will open to the public free of charge and four will offer half-price tickets from May 16 to May 18 to celebrate the upcoming International Museum Day and China Tourism Day, said Cheng Meihong, deputy director of the Shanghai municipal administration of culture and tourism, at a press conference on May 13.

In addition, museums have launched online exhibitions to offer members of the public virtual tours to celebrate Museum Day.

Shanghai's museums have taken stringent measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19. Tours at these venues should be pre-booked as museums should not exceed 30 or 50 percent of their approved daily capacity.

Shanghai received about 7.07 million tourists during the May Day holiday and the city's museums welcomed 96,800 visitors during the five-day holiday.