Most of the city's residents will continue to face stringent curbs as authorities plan for a cautious reopening, despite the fact that the city achieved a key milestone in its reopening plan on Tuesday.
A resident walks by a worker in a protective suit.
The National Health Commission reported that there were over 800 new cases in the city.
Unlike other locked down cities in China which begin lifting restrictions after a few days of no infections outside the restricted areas, Shanghai plans to carry out a phased reopening with most restrictions remaining in place until May 21.
Anger and frustration have been caused by the fact that most of the residents of the city have been locked up for almost seven weeks.
Most restrictions on movement remain in place and private cars can't be seen on the roads as some shops in the city have begun reopening.
Beijing reported 52 new Covid cases on Tuesday, prompting authorities to tighten restrictions further.
Some residents of Beijing's Fengtai district were ordered not to leave their neighborhoods while residential compounds in the city's largest district carried out health status checks at exit points.
We are very concerned about the investment by the U.S. and other foreign companies into China because people can't get access to travel. Michael Hart, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, warned on Tuesday that investment will decline over the next five years because of the Covid restrictions. China's zero-covid policy could have a severe impact on the country's economy according to several groups.
On Monday, officials in Shanghai for the first time laid out a timetable for ending the city's lock down. The reopening will take place in phases, with restrictions on movement in place until May 21. By June 1, the city is expected to be free of the lock down, but residents will still be asked to take tests. The city's vice mayor warned that the reopening plan was subject to cases not recovering. Despite the current outbreak in Beijing and Shanghai being caused by the highly infectious BA.2 omicron variant of the coronaviruses, China has stuck to its zero- Covid plan. Efforts to question the hardline strategy have been met with resistance from the state.
Normal still far away in Shanghai, despite its zero carbon dioxide status.
The Strict 6-Week Lockdown is close to ending.
Live updates on the coronaviruses.
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