Three Days In A Row With No New COVID-19 Cases, Shanghai Society Remains In Lockdown

Ilustrasi tenaga kesehatan di Shanghai Expo Exhibition Hall. (Wikimedia Commons/China News)

JAKARTA - Shanghai, China on Tuesday hit the long-awaited milestone for three straight days with no new COVID-19 cases outside of the quarantine zone, but most residents will endure lockdown for a while longer, before returning to their normal life.

For other Chinese cities that have been under lockdown, a third day without new cases in the community usually means 'zero COVID' status, a good start to lifting restrictions.

The commercial hub of 25 million on Monday set the clearest timetable for exiting lockdown now in its seventh week, but the plan was met with skepticism by many residents who have seen isolation extended time and time again.

Shanghai plans to gradually resume outdoor activities, with some convenience stores and pharmacies reopening this week. However, all with most of the movement restrictions remain in place until May 21, after which public transport and other services will resume gradually.

By June, the lockdown should be lifted, but residents will still be required to be tested frequently.

More people were allowed out of their homes this week, with some runners and dog walkers seen. A man is seen fishing in the Shanghai river.

However, high fences remain surrounding many housing complexes and there are hardly any private cars on the streets with most people still cooped up in their homes.

It's not clear how many stores have reopened this week, but delivery apps showed slightly lower demand for their services on Tuesday.

A social media account run by the Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, posted the photos late Monday saying they showed breakfast bars, restaurants and hairdressers open.

However, one social media user described the post as "bullshit".

"We have been locked up at home for two months. This story is meant for someone other than the people in Shanghai," he said. As of Tuesday morning, the post had been deleted.

Meanwhile, a video uploaded by another government-backed media outlet announcing the reopening of wholesale store Alibaba Freshippo, shows about 10 staff members in hazmat suits making heart shapes with their hands, but only two of them appear to be shoppers.

A sign on the shop door indicates customers must present a negative COVID test, a pass card showing they are allowed to leave the house and an up-to-date mobile health app to enter. Only 20 customers are allowed into the shop at any one time.

Overall, Shanghai reported fewer than 1.000 new cases for May 16, all within areas under tight control. In the relatively freer areas, which are monitored to measure progress in eradicating the outbreak, no new cases were found for a third day.

Data this week showed the havoc wrought on the economy by the lockdown in Shanghai and restrictions in dozens of other major cities, with retail sales and industrial output plunging at their fastest pace in more than two years in April.

China's uncompromising "zero COVID" policy has put hundreds of millions of consumers and workers under various restrictions, at a time when the world is lifting them to 'live with the virus', even as infections spread.