China

Shanghai city to lift lockdown restrictions on June 1

cde.news desk 30 May 2022, 18:00 · 1 min read

epa09977565 People walk in front of the billboard, amid the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai, China, 26 May 2022. Shanghai city reported one COVID-19 death, 48 locally transmitted cases, and 290 local asymptomatic infections, according to the Shanghai Health Commission on 26 May 2022. Grade 11 and 12 senior high school students will return to campus on 6 June, and Grade 9 on 13 June, Shanghai Education Commission reported. Students must take an antigen test before school, a PCR test before leaving, and a temperature check twice a day at school. Offline classes are optional. EPA-EFE/ALEX PLAVEVSKI

SHANGHAI, May 30 (Reuters) – Shanghai authorities will lift the city’s two-month long lockdown from midnight on Wednesday, allowing private cars including taxis back on to the roads and people to freely move in and out of low-risk housing compounds.

Bus and rail transport will also resume basic operations from June 1, including a ferry that connects districts separated by the city’s Huangpu river, the Shanghai city government said in a statement on its official WeChat account

“The epidemic situation in our city has been effectively controlled and the situation continues to improve,” it said in its statement. People will still be required to wear masks, discouraged from gathering and encouraged to get vaccinated, it added.

Shanghai imposed a city-wide lockdown on its 25 million residents on April 1 to combat the spread of COVID-19, exacting harsh measures that caused widespread public anger over issues such as crowded quarantine centres, difficulties in accessing food and loss of income.

It had in recent weeks relaxed some curbs, but most of the public transport network remained shut and people could only drive if they had obtained prior approval.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Toby Chopra)