COVID-hit Shanghai to end two-month shutdown on 1 June

Shanghai announced the end of its two-month COVID-19 lockdown on Monday, allowing the vast majority of people in China's largest city to leave their homes and drive their cars from Wednesday.To get more news about shanghai, you can visit citynewsservice.cn official website.

The news brought an outpouring of relief, joy and some caution from exhausted residents.

"I'm so emotional I'm going to cry," said one Weibo user.

Most of the city's 25 million residents have been confined to their homes for almost the entire duration of the lockdown, which began on April 1, with restrictions eased only slightly in recent weeks to allow some to go out for short periods.Local authorities had said earlier this month that they planned to fully restore normal life by next month, but it had not been clear how they would achieve this, given their insistence on adhering to China's zero-tolerance policy.

Some residents greeted the news with disbelief, reflecting on how what was supposed to be a five-day lockdown turned into a much longer-than-expected ordeal.
The easing of restrictions only applies to people in low-risk areas, which the government says are home to around 22.3 million people. People are still required to wear masks, discouraged from congregating and encouraged to get vaccinated.

The authorities did not say whether activities such as eating in restaurants would be allowed.

Following the announcement, Li Qiang, Shanghai's Communist Party chief and an ally of President Xi Jinping, said the city's authorities and residents had "passed the test under extreme conditions and completed the arduous task".
QUESTIONS REMAIN
The citywide lockdown has fuelled public anger and rare protests, as well as disrupting supply chains and China's economy.

Residents have heavily criticised the city government for its communication during much of the period. On Sunday, Shanghai announced it would lift restrictions on the reopening of businesses, but gave no indication at the time of how it would lift other lockdown measures.
It was also unclear whether companies, shops and supermarkets would still have to adhere to a "closed-loop" management system in order to reopen. Businesses have said such requirements are problematic, as they have to find ways for workers to sleep on site and carry out regular disinfection.

"Shanghai has suffered a huge setback and lost its lustre during the two months of strict lockdown. Although the road back to normality is long, these new measures show that Shanghai's economic recovery is a priority," said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, vice-president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.