CNN reporter leaves Shanghai after 50 days of confinement 4:13
(CNN) --
Shanghai officials said Tuesday they have achieved "zero Covid-19 at the community level," in what appeared to be the turning point of a costly, heavy-handed campaign to control an outbreak of the omicron variant.
But, many residents remain skeptical that the city will reopen anytime soon.
"Community-level Covid-19 zero" means that infections are no longer outside centralized quarantine facilities or neighborhoods under the strictest lockdowns, and is a prerequisite for those measures to be lifted.
Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, told a news conference on Tuesday that all 16 districts in the Chinese financial center have already achieved the distinction.
But 860,000 people remain under the strictest quarantine level, meaning they cannot leave their homes.
This is what it's like to leave Shanghai's harsh covid-19 lockdown and seek a "whole new world" outside of China
The strictest quarantine in the world becomes more extreme 4:41
Since China's leader Xi Jinping vowed to continue his zero-Covid-19 policy on May 5, Shanghai authorities have cracked down increasingly hard, canceling food deliveries in some neighborhoods, forcing residents who tested negative for covid-19 to government quarantine and disinfecting their homes without consent.
However, although the strong measures have fueled discontent among residents, they also appear to have reduced infections.
Shanghai reported fewer than 1,000 new cases on both Sunday and Monday, the first time below four figures since March 24, according to the city's Health Commission.
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Shanghai promises reactivation from June
The announcement comes a day after Shanghai pledged to gradually ease its COVID-19 lockdown and return to normalcy in June, following a seven-week government-imposed lockdown that inflicted great pain on residents and hit a devastating blow to the economy.
At a press conference on Monday, Shanghai officials declared the outbreak "under effective control" as 15 of the city's 16 districts had halted community spread of Covid-19, with fewer than 1 million of its 25 million residents still in strict quarantine.
Officials said the reopening of the city will take place in three phases, with the aim of restoring life to normal and fully restarting factory operations in June.
“From June 1 to the middle and end of June, under the premise of controlling the risks of contagion rebound, we will normalize epidemic prevention and control, and fully restore production and normal life in the city,” said the official. Vice Mayor Zong-ming.
Supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies began to reopen on Monday, Zong said, adding that hair salons and wholesale farmers markets would follow.
Train services to and from Shanghai have also gradually resumed since Monday, followed by domestic flights.
As of May 22, bus and metro services will resume.
Passengers will need a negative Covid-19 test, taken within 48 hours, to board public transportation, according to Zong.
Shanghai intensifies confinement while Xi Jinping insists on zero covid-19
Videos show the anguish of the confinement in Shanghai 5:10
Shanghai residents aren't convinced they can get back to normal
The reopening plan was greeted with skepticism by some Shanghai residents who have lost confidence in the local government.
In March, Shanghai authorities repeatedly denied that the city would be locked down.
The police even arrested two people accused of "spreading rumours" that such a move was imminent.
When the local government announced a two-stage lockdown in late March, it said it would last just four days and promised daily supplies would be sufficient.
But days turned into weeks and many struggled to secure access to food and other daily necessities.
"You can cheat on me, but please don't do it all the time," said a user on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform in a widely circulated comment.
On Chinese social media, some Shanghai residents said they were still not allowed to go outside even though their neighborhoods reported no recent cases.
Others lashed out at state media reports that life in the city is returning to normal.
Meanwhile, an article on the People's Daily website was lampooned, in which the Communist Party spokesman presented images purporting to show the reopening of restaurants, cafes and supermarkets.
"Even though I'm not allowed to go out in Shanghai, I can feel real warmth from your fake news. Thank you, People's Daily!" one resident said in a social media post under a hashtag that loosely translates to "the smell of kitchen is coming back to Shanghai.
"Is Shanghai a parallel world?" asked another user under the same hashtag.
ANALYSIS |
Hong Kong and Shanghai lose their international shine as covid-19 restrictions tighten
Video about the confinement in Shanghai that the Chinese government prohibits viewing 4:08
The hashtag, which has been viewed 140 million times, appears to have caught the attention of China's internet censors.
By Tuesday afternoon, only
posts
published by official accounts under that hashtag could be viewed.
Some Shanghai residents even left sarcastic comments on the official Weibo account of "National Anti-Fraud Center," an app launched by China's Ministry of Public Security to combat phone scams.
"Please go after the Shanghai government and shut them up. They lie with their eyes wide open every day, enough is enough," said a Shanghai user.
Others maintained their anger at the information in the People's Daily.
"People.cn is spreading rumours. The Shanghai described in their words is not the Shanghai I am living in now," said one user.
Most of the comments had been removed by Tuesday afternoon.
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