BEIJING: Shanghai will reopen gradually and resume “normal life” from June 1 after stamping out its Covid-19 infections from 15 of its 16 districts, a city official said on Monday, releasing a staggered timetable for lifting the current lockdown over the next two weeks.
The country’s financial hub and its 25 million residents have spent more than six weeks in an agonising lockdown, which frustrated many, impacted the global supply-chain and contributed to a slowdown in China’s economic activity.
“The city’s pandemic has been put under effective control, though the risk of a resurgence still exists,” deputy mayor Zong Ming said on Monday, according to state media.
Zong announced that 15 of the city’s 16 districts have achieved “zero community transmission”, while the population within the locked down areas has dropped to under a million.
“Daily infections have also fallen below 1,000 and there has been no community transmission across the city for two consecutive days,” Zong said.
Shanghai, which has logged hundreds of thousands of cases and around 570 deaths in the ongoing but waning outbreak, is emerging from China’s worst Covid-19 epidemic since the coronavirus was first discovered in central China’s Wuhan city in late 2019
Zong added that Shanghai’s reopening would be carried out in stages, with movement curbs largely to remain in place until May 21 to prevent a possible rebound in infections.
“Shanghai has planned its epidemic control work for the coming period, dividing it into three stages,” Zong said.
“Low social movement” will mark the initial period of opening up.
During the three stages, Shanghai will gradually minimise the number of “closed-off management areas” and “restrictive control areas” until these communities are reopened.
“From June 1 to mid-late June, Shanghai will fully restore the normal order of production and life across the city with standard epidemic prevention and control measures, while strictly preventing any resurgence of the epidemic,” Zong was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.
“From May 22 to the end of the month, the locked-down and controlled areas will be further reduced and eventually eliminated to accelerate the shift to normality from June. Public transport, trains and flights will gradually resume,” the Shanghai-based Shine.cn reported.
Supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies reopened offline services from Monday, the report said, adding the reopening will be followed by wet and grocery markets, hair salons and laundry-related businesses.
“Cinemas, museums, cultural venues, gyms and other enclosed places will stay closed,” the Shine.cn report said.
Beijing, meanwhile, reported over 50 new Covid-19 cases for Sunday, authorities announced on Monday as millions in the city continued to work from home amid tight curbs on movement.
Most residents lined up for daily nucleic acid tests – daily tests are being conducted for more than a week now – as the city government attempts to stamp out hidden transmission chains.
The national capital has reported 1,113 locally transmitted infections since April 22 and has classified 19 areas as high-risk for Covid-19 and 25 as medium-risk, Xinhua reported.
