Officials in Shanghai are taking "major steps" toward lifting the COVID-19 lockdown that has kept residents in their homes for two months, Shanghai Vice Mayor Zong Ming said at a press briefing Tuesday (May 31), the Associated Press reported.
“The epidemic has been effectively controlled," the vice mayor said, according to AP.
Full bus and subway service in Shanghai and basic rail connections with the rest of China will be restored Wednesday (June 1), Zong said. Schools, shopping malls, supermarkets, convenience stores and drug stores will gradually reopen, the story said. Theaters and gyms will stay closed.
The lockdown slowed China's economic growth, and the world's supply chain, AP reported.
There are still more than 500,000 people in Shanghai, a city of 25 million, that will be kept on lockdown after June 1, which is the target date for reopening, AP reported. About 90,000 residents are still in lockdown sections of the city and another 450,000 who are in "control zones" because they live near recent cases, the story said.
The lockdown has also been eased in Beijing, where it has been comparatively minor compared to Shanghai, AP said.
Globe Banner previously reported on the economic consequences of the citywide lockdowns, with manufacturing stalling and shipping decreasing due to the restrictions within the city. Zero cars were sold in Shanghai, a city of 25 million people, during the month of April.