On Wednesday, Shanghai lifted the most severe anti-Covid restrictions that had been in place for two months for its 25 million residents. This is a further step towards lifting the confinement which frustrates the population as well as the economy. A sharp decline in positive cases has led to several measures being relaxed. The population could only go out for a few hours per day and on the condition that there was no case.
On Wednesday morning, Shanghainese were returning to work while some shops were getting ready to open. Metro and public transport worked again. On social media, the Shanghai mayor declared that "this is the moment we've been waiting for a long while". However, authorities warned that normalcy was not possible for the moment. The maximum capacity of convenience stores, beauty salons, pharmacies, and shopping centers is 75%. The closure of sports halls and cinemas is permanent. Schools will be reopened on a case by case basis.
Two months ago, residents were prevented from leaving their homes by imposing yellow barriers. They were removed on Tuesday. Workers were busy removing the anti-Covid fortifications. Masked observers took advantage of their first steps into freedom.
Despite a staggering increase in positive cases in March the municipality initially rejected the idea of confinement citing Shanghai's importance for the economy. The authorities changed their mind in April and began to confine the entire metropolis. Some residents were there even before that date. Many people have been made more miserable by problems such as lack of fresh produce and inaccessibility to non-Covid medical treatment.
The longest lockdown in China is Shanghai's since the outbreak of the pandemic. The lockdown of Wuhan (center), which was the first city to be affected by the Covid in 2020, lasted 76 consecutive days. Shanghai's shutdown has severely disrupted supply chains and penalized production.
