How Shanghai Is Cautiously Reopening After Two Months of Hardcore Lockdowns
China’s financial capital reported its fewest Covid-19 cases in almost three months as residents celebrated a significant easing of curbs on movement, while some companies took a more cautious approach, maintaining some restrictions in factories.
(Bloomberg) -- China’s financial capital reported its fewest Covid-19 cases in three months as residents celebrated an end to mandatory home isolation for most of the city, while some companies continued factory restrictions out of caution.
Shanghai saw 15 new infections on Tuesday, the lowest caseload since March 2 and a dramatic drop from the peak of more than 27,000 a day in April. While most of the city’s 25 million residents were released from one of the world’s most restrictive pandemic lockdowns after two months, about 10% still aren’t allowed to move about the city.
As the newly released Shanghainese cheered their freedoms with fireworks and parties in their housing compounds, businesses appeared more circumspect after the lockdown inflicted a heavy toll on operations and production. Several companies said they can’t fully restart their operations despite the easing because of supply chain issues.
Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG will keep workers at their Shanghai plants isolated in special “bubbles” until the end of next week, to ensure stability of output, people familiar with the plans told Bloomberg News. Mazda Motor Corp. expects ripple effects causing halts and delays across select manufacturing facilities worldwide in part because of the lockdown. Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said it will monitor the situation for now, as will Suzuki Motor Corp.
Sony Group Corp. partially restarted its Shanghai plant that makes televisions and video cameras in early May and aims to return to full operation over the next several months, according to its spokeswoman.
Read more: Tesla, VW Keep Shanghai Workers Isolated Even as Lockdown Eases
Containment of the highly contagious omicron variant in Shanghai will be seen as vindication for China’s intensive Covid Zero strategy, which allows no tolerance even as other countries live with the pathogen that triggered the most significant global health crisis in generations. The victory exacted a hefty toll on the economy, with factories shuttered for weeks and supply chains upended as China deployed the playbook of movement restrictions, mass testing and mandatory isolation of all Covid cases and their close contacts.
Thank You, Next
The Shanghai government issued a thank you letter to its citizens late Tuesday, pledging to “spare no effort to promote the full restoration” of normal life and to “do our best to recover the time and losses caused by the epidemic.”
The letter, which took the #8 trending spot on the Twitter-like social media app Weibo, received broad criticism online, with people saying it should have been an apology and calling for punishment of the experts who led the virus response.
While barriers erected to confine people to their apartment complexes are being dismantled, Shanghai’s residents will emerge to a city changed by the lockdown. Vast makeshift hospitals were built to house the tens of thousands of infected and their close contacts. Many places remain off limits, with movie theaters, gyms and museums still closed.
Seven & i Holdings Co., which has 150 7-Eleven convenience stores in Shanghai, has opened some shops but some may be impacted by district-specific rules, according to its spokeswoman.
People will still need a valid negative PCR test result before leaving home. Workers returning to the office were reminded to avoid meeting in rooms, practice social distancing in canteens and to disinfect their keyboards. Most subway lines will resume operations with some initial limitations.
And with China committed to its Covid Zero policy, the possibility that restrictions will be swiftly reimposed in the event of any further virus flareups hangs over the nation.
Reopening steps going into effect Wednesday:
Regular testing is also set to become a standard feature of life. A network of tens of thousands of testing booths is being set up across the country’s largest and most economically vital cities, with the goal of having residents always just a 15 minute walk away from a swabbing point.
The infrastructure will allow cities like Beijing, Shanghai, tech hub Shenzhen and e-commerce heartland Hangzhou to require tests as often as every 48 hours, with negative results needed to get on the subway or enter a store.
Read more: China Plans for Years of Covid Zero With Tests on Every Corner
The testing plan shows the extent of China’s divergence from the world where Covid infections are now commonplace. The next iteration relies on taking faster action based on test results to prevent the virus from seeding within a community, as it did in Shanghai.
(Adds specfic requirements for business reopening in a box after the 12th paragraph)
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