COVID-19: Shanghai to ease lockdown in some areas despite rise in cases

China's most populous and wealthiest city, Shanghai has started easing its lockdownon Monday afterreporting more than 25,000 covid cases a day earlier.

The Communist Party is pressurising authorities to make the city work again after more than two weeks. Earlier asthe lockdown stretched on, it was difficult for people to get adequate food and medicines, Reuters reported.

On Sunday, Shanghai reported 25,173 new asymptomatic infections, up from 23,973 the day before, though symptomatic cases fell from 1,006 to 914.

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The city official Gu Honghui, that the city is now categorising the residential units into three safety categories in order to allow the residents in neighbourhood with no positive cases for a two- week period to engage in “suitable activity.”

However, it’s still unclear that how many of the city’s 25 million residents will be released from lockdown right away, the moves offer some relief for those who have been cooped up for more than three weeks in fight against the coronavirus since its outbreak in late 2019 in central Wuhan.

Gu Honghui said, Shanghai was divided into 7,624 sealed regions, 2,460 being subjected to ‘control’ after a week of no new infections and 7,565 ‘prevention areas’ to be opened up after two weeks with any coronavirus cases. The ones in prevention areas who travel around their neighbourhood must maintain social distance and may by sealed again after new cases emerge.

Watch |China: Shanghai's covid-19 infections rise by 25,000, authorities shaping an exit plan from lockdown

The industrial neighbourhood of Jinshan, on the southwestern outskirts of Shanghai was the first one to publish its list, which included name of residentials locations classified into high and medium risks section.

Many social media users criticised the Shanghai government saying relaxing action as a major risk at a time when the city is dealing with a record number of cases every day, while some claimed that the city does not have any choice. While the complaints about controlling still continues as people in Xuhui district told Reuters, neighbouring committees had put locks in their bicycle to confine them to their homes.

The highly contagious but less lethal Omicron variant is straining China’s zero tolerance attitude towards COVID-19, which mandates one to be in quarantine even if they have no symptoms.

However, other countries are trying to live with the virus, China’s policy has halted all international travels and is taking a growing economic toll as towns apply limitations and eastern Ningbo and Guangzhou are the recent ones to do so.

(With inputs from agencies)