News brought an outpouring of relief, joy and some wariness from exhausted residents
\nSHANGHAI\/ BEIJING
\nShanghai on Monday announced an end to its two-month long Covid-19 lockdown, allowing the vast majority of people in China\u2019s largest city to leave their homes and drive their cars from Wednesday.
\nThe news brought an outpouring of relief, joy and some wariness from exhausted residents.
\n\u201cI\u2019m so emotional that I\u2019m going to cry,\u201d said one Weibo user.
\nMost of the city\u2019s 25 million residents have been confined to their homes for almost all of the lockdown which began on April 1, with curbs only slightly relaxing in recent weeks to allow some to go out for short periods of time.
\nLocal authorities had earlier this month said they planned to fully restore normal life by next month but it had not been clear how they would carry that out amid an insistence on sticking to China\u2019s zero- Covid policy.
\nSome residents greeted the news with disbelief, reflecting on how what was originally supposed to be a lockdown lasting five days that became a much longer than anticipated ordeal.
\n\u201cPlease don\u2019t be lying to me,\u201d one person said on social media. \u201cI\u2019m numb,\u201d said another.
\nThe easing of curbs applies only to those in low-risk areas, which are home to about 22.3 million people, according to government data. People will still be required to wear masks and are discouraged from gathering and encouraged to get vaccinated. Authorities did not say whether activities such as restaurant dining would be permitted.
\nFollowing the announcement, Li Qiang, Shanghai\u2019s Communist Party chief and an ally of President Xi Jinping, said city authorities and residents had \u201cpassed the test under extreme conditions and completed the arduous task\u201d.
\nQuestions remain
\nThe city-wide lockdown has fueled public anger and rare protests, as well as pummelled supply chains and China\u2019s economy. Residents have heavily criticised the city government over its communication during much of the period. On Sunday, Shanghai announced it was removing restrictions on business reopenings, but gave no indication at that time on how it would lift other lockdown measures.
\nIt was also unclear whether firms, shops and supermarkets must continue to adhere to a \u201cclosed loop\u201d management system in order to reopen. Companies have called such requirements problematic as they must find ways for workers to sleep on site and carry out regular disinfection.
\n\u201cShanghai suffered a huge setback and lost its shine during the two months of stringent lockdown measures. Although the road to normality is long, these new measures indicate the prioritisation of Shanghai\u2019s economic recovery\u201d said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, Vice President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.
\nBeijing easing
\nChina\u2019s \u201czero Covid\u201d policy aimed at eradicating outbreaks is at odds with other countries that have opted to live with the virus, and the lack of an exit strategy has worried investors.
\nChina\u2019s new daily cases are in the hundreds compared with tens of thousands in many Western nations.
\nIn Beijing, which is fighting its own smaller outbreak, streets were busier on Monday as more residents returned to work and public transport curbs were eased. But officials said the emergence of a new case outside of quarantined zones after three clear days showed the tall task of quelling Covid.
\nBeijing had reported no cases in the community for three straight days\u2013the best run since its current outbreak began in late April\u2013until a new case surfaced on Monday.
\n\u201cThere was a new flare-up today, indicating Beijing\u2019s \u2018dynamic-zero\u2019 mission is arduous and we should constantly be on alert,\u201d municipal government spokesperson Xu Hejian told a news conference.
\nThe Beijing districts of Fangshan and Shunyi ended work-from-home rules on Monday, while that requirement has also largely been dropped in the city\u2019s biggest district Chaoyang. Public transport has mostly resumed in all three areas.
\nLibraries, museums, theatres and gyms were allowed to reopen on Sunday, though with limits on numbers of people, in districts that have seen no community Covid cases for seven consecutive days. Still, restaurant dining is banned throughout the city.
\nShanghai reported fewer than 100 new Covid cases for May 29, while Beijing recorded 12. Across the country, China reported 184 new cases, down from 293.
\nWhile there have been signs that economic activity is recovering somewhat from a dismal April, the strength and sustainability of any rebound depends largely on Covid developments.
\nChina is hoping frequent mass Covid testing will allow them to detect future outbreaks at an early stage and aim to have testing facilities within 15-minutes\u2019 walk of everyone in its big cities.
\nThe government is on track to spend more than $52 billion this year on testing, new medical facilities, monitoring equipment and other anti-Covid measures, which will benefit as many as 3,000 companies, analysts say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News brought an outpouring of relief, joy and some wariness from exhausted residents SHANGHAI\/ BEIJING Shanghai on Monday announced an end to its two-month long Covid-19 lockdown, allowing the vast majority of people in China\u2019s largest city to leave their homes and drive their cars from Wednesday. The news brought an outpouring of relief, joy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263617,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-263597","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n