Dalian, Liaoning province, is making every effort to ensure the smooth operation of the National Postgraduate Entrance Examination in the upcoming weekend, despite cluster of COVID-19 infections, an official with the city's education bureau said at a news conference on Friday.

Students sitting the exam are required to take three rounds of nucleic acid testing in seven days before the exam, said Zhao Yang, director of the city's education bureau.

Designated exam rooms and hotels are prepared for those from city's five neighborhood divisions that are under closed-off management, with expenses covered by the authorities.

"Dalian made a quick and orderly response to the outbreak," said Qiu Tiantian, whose 24-year-old sister will take the exam over the weekend. "My sister is now staying at the designated hotel and will sit the exam as scheduled, although she is not mentally prepared for the exam because of uncertainties."

Meanwhile, 4.76 million residents of Dalian had given their samples by noon on Friday. So far, 3.13 million samples have been tested, and all available results came negative, according to the city's health commission.

The port city has reported 19 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 20 asymptomatic infections as of Thursday, since fresh infections emerged on Dec 15.