SHANGHAI/BEIJING: Shanghai announced on Monday that the two-month-long Covid-19 lockdown would be lifted on Wednesday, allowing the vast majority of residents in China’s largest metropolis to leave their homes and drive their automobiles.
The news was met with relief, pleasure, and apprehension among the tired people.
“I’m going to cry because I’m so emotional,” one Weibo user stated.
The majority of the city’s 25 million citizens have been confined to their homes for nearly the entire lockdown, which began on April 1, with only minor relaxations in recent weeks allowing some residents to go out for brief periods of time.
Local officials had stated earlier this month that they intended to return to normalcy by next month, but that had not happened.
Some residents were taken aback by the news, recalling how a five-day lockdown had turned into a much longer ordeal than expected.
On social media, one user said, “Please don’t lie to me.” Another stated, “I’m numb.”
The 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.
Following the announcement, Li Qiang, Shanghai’s Communist Party chief and an ally of President Xi Jinping, said city authorities and residents had “passed the test under
There are still unanswered questions.
The city-wide lockdown has sparked public outrage and rare rallies, while also wreaking havoc on supply networks and the Chinese economy.
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Residents have been harshly critical of the local government’s communication during this time. Shanghai stated on Sunday that it will relax limitations on company reopenings, but offered no indication of how it would lift additional lockdown measures at the moment.
It was also unclear whether businesses, shops, and supermarkets needed maintain a “closed loop” management system to reopen. Companies have labelled such regulations as difficult since they must find a means for staff to sleep on the job and sanitise the area on a regular basis.
“During the two months of strict lockdown measures, Shanghai suffered a major setback and lost its lustre. Although the path to normalcy is long, these new steps show that Shanghai’s economic recovery is a top priority “Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, Vice President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, expressed her thoughts.
