JANGHAI, May 31 – Shanghai authorities on Tuesday began dismantling fences around housing complexes and tearing off police tape from squares and public buildings before the two-month blockade was lifted in the largest city in Shanghai. China at midnight.
On Monday evening, some people who allowed themselves to leave their premises for short walks took advantage of the suspended traffic to gather for a beer and ice cream on the deserted streets. But there was a sense of suspicion and anxiety among the residents.
“I feel a little nervous,” said Joseph Mak, who works in education. “It’s hard to believe it’s really happening.”
Most will be locked inside again until midnight, as they have been for the past two months under a strict blockade that has led to loss of income and stress and despair to people struggling to access or receive food. emergency health care.
Prolonged isolation has fueled public anger and rare protests in the city of 25 million people and severely affected its manufacturing and export economy, disrupted supply chains in China and around the world, and slowed. international trade.
Barbers wearing face masks cut customers’ hair outside a cafe on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Shanghai, China. PA workers in protective suits disinfect a school classroom to prepare for resumption of classes after coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China.VIA REUTERS
Life is expected to return to normal from Wednesday, when season tickets issued by residential buildings are discarded so that people can leave for a few hours, public transport will resume and residents can return to work.
“This is a day we have been dreaming of for a long time,” Shanghai government spokeswoman Yin Xin told reporters.
“Everyone has sacrificed a lot. This day has been won with effort and we must love and protect it, and welcome the Shanghai we know and miss.”
Travelers wearing face masks descend the stairs of a recently reopened subway station in Beijing’s Central Business District.
Next to a stream in Shanghai on Tuesday, a marinated goose shop was refilling shelves, a bar was making last-minute renovations, and cleaners were cleaning shop windows.
Sidewalks will be reduced to about 22.5 million people in low-risk areas. Residents will still be required to wear masks and avoid meetings. Dinner inside restaurants is still prohibited. Stores can operate at 75% capacity. The gyms will reopen later.
Residents will be required to take tests every 72 hours to take public transportation and enter public places. There is still a tough quarantine for anyone taking COVID and their close contacts.
A taxi driver with protective equipment awaits customers on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 in Shanghai, China.AP
Lock-Clarity
China is the only one of the major countries to implement a “zero COVID” policy to eradicate outbreaks at almost any cost.
Julian MacCormac, president of the British House of Representatives in China, said Shanghai controlled COVID at a “very significant personal and financial cost”.
“What has materially changed so that this does not happen again?” He asked. “That’s where the uncertainty lies.”
Travelers wearing face masks are waiting at an intersection in the central shopping district of Beijing.AP
Todd Pearson, CEO of Camel Hospitality Group, which runs restaurants, bars and gyms in and around Shanghai, is suspicious.
Their restaurants can only make deliveries, which provide about 5% of revenue, not enough to pay salaries and rent. At least after midnight his workers who have slept on the site can finally return home.
“I hope they speed things up to restart the economy,” Pearson said. “I just hope it’s not at the expense of more outbreaks. I’m not sure many companies or people can handle much more.”
Economic activity in China has recovered somewhat in May from a sad April, as COVID’s limitations on manufacturing centers gradually eased, although movement controls still depressed demand and restrict production.
Residents line up to test for nucleic acid on a street as the city prepares to end the confinement set to curb the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Shanghai, China, on May 31 2022. REUTERS
Fun with Flags
Shanghai reported 31 cases on May 30, down from 67 the day before, reflecting a downward trend across China to less than 200 infections nationwide.
The end of the Shanghai confinement does not mean a return to pre-COVID life forms.
Some bank employees said they will have to wear suits full of hazardous material and face protection when they start facing the public starting Wednesday. One said he would bring some basic supplies to work with, in case a colleague tested positive and staff had to isolate themselves in the office.
Protective worker watches a barber cut a resident’s hair on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 in Shanghai, China.AP
The city’s blockade management sparked rare protests, with people sometimes knocking pots and pans out of windows to show their displeasure.
“The Shanghai government must apologize publicly for the understanding and support of the people of Shanghai and repair the damaged relationship between the government and the people,” said Qu Weiguo, a professor at the Foreign Language School of Shanghai. Fudan University. posted to WeChat.
Shows of resentment come during a sensitive year for President Xi Jinping, who is expected to run for a third term this fall.
Employees wearing face masks are waiting for the results of COVID-19 tests to be reviewed to enter an office building in Beijing’s central business district.
A compound hung a Chinese flag for residents to take pictures while queuing for a PCR test before reopening.
“It’s worth celebrating,” said a volunteer at the test site, who was more optimistic about COVID than those who rubbed their noses. “We probably won’t have it again in the rest of our lives.”