China’s financial hub, Shanghai, is set to reopen on Wednesday after a sobering battle against an Omicron-driven Covid-19 outbreak, which put millions of its residents behind a suffocating lockdown since March and throttled the national economy with its impact on supply chain networks.
Even though a citywide lockdown was only ordered in April, many areas had already been sealed off since Shanghai first started logging Covid-19 cases in early March. A quarantine hotel in Shanghai was at the centre of the initial Covid-19 cluster and led to a 100 confirmed infections.
More than 560 people have died in the city and the caseload has crossed the 650,000-mark over the course of the outbreak, the worst in China since the first Covid-19 cases appeared in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
The city reported 31 Covid-19 cases including 22 asymptomatic cases for Monday, a dramatic drop from the record 25,000 cases a day the city was seeing just weeks ago.
“Shanghai will fully restore the normal order of production and living across the city starting from Wednesday, on the premise of containing the overall risk of Covid-19,” the Shanghai municipal government announced on Tuesday.
While scepticism greeted an earlier announcement that the lockdown will be lifted from June 1, Shanghai residents are likely more optimistic now with some restrictions having already been lifted in some areas.
Government workers began dismantling fences put up to isolate apartment complexes over the weekend – a symbol of the city being freed up from a strict lockdown that prevented millions from stepping out of their homes for weeks.
The deserted roads of Shanghai are also set to become busier from Wednesday.
Public transport systems, including bus and subway services will be fully restored from Wednesday, deputy mayor, Zong Ming, said at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that the entire rail transit network and ferry services will also resume operations.
“Private cars and corporate vehicles can ply normally except in areas designated as medium and high-risk for Covid-19, and those under closed-off management or restrictive control,” Zong said.
“Those who enter public places with clear epidemic prevention requirements and take public transportation must hold a negative nucleic acid test report within 72 hours,” Zong said.
For many residents, Wednesday will be the first time in several weeks that they will be able to visit shopping malls, supermarkets and convenience stores with the municipal government allowing them to open with visitor flow capped at 75% of the maximum capacity.
“The same requirements will also be implemented at cultural and tourism venues, stadiums and A-level tourist attractions,” Zong said.
Schools in Shanghai will resume in-campus classes in a staggered manner with senior high school students in the top two grades.
Shanghai has also announced policies to bring its economy back to life.
“The municipal government is aiming, in particular, to prop up the property market — which was already suffering from a nationwide liquidity crisis before the outbreak began — as well as to support smaller enterprises and consumer demand,” the Caixin website said in a report.
City officials have said the government, for one, will approve new housing projects and allow developers to delay the payment of land use fees to the authorities.
“It also pledges preferential policies to help people buying their first or second home, without giving specifics,” the report said.
China’s capital, Beijing, meanwhile, further eased restrictions on Tuesday in some districts as the Covid-19 caseload dropped again in the past 24 hours.
The outbreak in the city appears to be on the wane with 18 new cases reported for Monday. The city has logged less than 1,800 cases since April 22 when the current outbreak started.
