The blockade is expected to end after two months
SHANGHAI. Shanghai’s government on Tuesday began dismantling fences around housing complexes and removing police tape from squares and public buildings, to the relief of the city’s 25 million residents, before a painful two-month shutdown was lifted at midnight.
On Monday night, some of those who were allowed to leave their compound for short walks took advantage of the traffic suspension to gather around a beer and ice cream on abandoned streets, but there was a sense of distrust and anxiety among residents.
“I feel a little nervous,” said Joseph Mak, who works in education. “It’s hard for this to really be happening. “
Most will be trapped indoors until midnight, as they have been for the past two months under a relentless lockdown that has caused loss of income, strain and depression for millions of other people suffering from eating or receiving emergency medical care.
The prolonged isolation has fueled public anger and infrequent protests in Shanghai and has hit the city’s production and export economy, disrupting chains in China and around the world and slowing foreign trade.
Life is expected to become more general again from Wednesday, when passes issued through residential buildings will be removed for other people to faint for a few hours, public transport will resume and citizens will be able to return to work.
“This is a day we have been dreaming about for a long time,” Shanghai spokeswoman Yin Xin told reporters.
Yin said online press meetings will be disrupted because his colleagues, who have lived there for more than two months, as required by COVID rules, will return home after midnight.
“Everyone sacrificed a lot. This day has been hard to win, and we will have to appreciate and protect it, and welcome the Shanghai we know and miss. “
Near a stream in Shanghai on Tuesday, a pickled geese shop replenishes shelves; a bar doing last minute renovations; cleaners cleaned shop windows.
Curbs will be quiet for around 22. 5 million people in low-risk areas. Residents will be required to wear masks and avoid gatherings. Meals in in-house restaurants are still prohibited. Stores can operate at 75% capacity. Gyms will reopen later.
Residents will have to be tested every 72 hours to use public shipping and enter public places. A complicated quarantine is still looming for anyone catching COVID and their close contacts.
BLOCK-ATTENTION
China is the only one among the major countries to put in place a “zero COVID” policy to eliminate epidemics at all costs.
Most likely, the highly transmissible variant of Omicron will return.
Julian MacCormac, president of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, said Shanghai had brought about COVID at “a very significant economic and non-public cost. “
“What has been materially replaced to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”he asked. ” That’s where the uncertainty lies. “
Todd Pearson, managing director of Camel Hospitality Group, which operates restaurants, bars and gyms in Shanghai, is cautious.
Their restaurants can only make deliveries, which generates about 5% of revenue, which is not enough to pay salaries and rent. At least from midnight, your staff who slept on the spot can, despite everything, go home.
“I hope they rush things to revive the economy,” Pearson said. “I just hope it’s not because of new epidemics. I’m not sure that many corporations or other people can handle much more. “
Economic activity in China recovered somewhat in May after a dismal April, as COVID-related restrictions at major production hubs were gradually eased, movement controls further reduced demand, and production was limited.
HAVE FUN WITH FLAGS
Shanghai reported 31 cases as of May 30, up from 67 the day before, reflecting a downward trend in China to less than two hundred infections nationwide, a fraction of the most other countries report.
The end of Shanghai’s closure means a return to pre-COVID lifestyles.
Some bank workers said they will have to wear full face shields and hazmat protectors when they start facing the public starting Wednesday. One worker said he would bring critical materials to work, in case a colleague tested positive and was forced to self-isolate in the office.
The lockdown has sparked rare protests, with others banging pots and pans in front of their windows to show their discontent with the strict measures, and many sharing frustrating interactions with the government on social media.
The public outcry of resentment comes in a delicate year for President Xi Jinping, who is expected to win a third term this fall.
One hotel hung a Chinese flag so citizens could simply take pictures as they covered up for PCR screening before reopening.
“It’s worth celebrating,” said a volunteer at the control site, who was more positive about COVID than those who took samples from his nose. “We probably won’t have it for the rest of our lives. “
(Additional reporting via David Stanway, Winni Zhou, Brenda Goh, Yifan Wang, David Kirton, Albee Zhang, Stella Qiu and the Beijing and Shanghai offices; written through Marius Zaharia; edited through Michael Perry)