Shanghai Reports Fewer Than 1,000 New COVID-19 Cases... Plans to Lift Restrictions on May 1

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The number of COVID-19 cases in Shanghai, China, has dropped below 1,000 for the first time in 50 days since the lockdown began. The city plans to lift the lockdown and other restrictions and promote a return to normal life if the recent trend continues by June 1.

On the 16th, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission (SMHC) announced that the number of new confirmed cases in Shanghai the previous day was 938 (869 asymptomatic). This is the first time since March 24 that the number of new cases in Shanghai has fallen below 1,000.

Health authorities also stated that as daily confirmed cases continue to decline, the city will ease the lockdown on June 1 as part of a phased plan to normalize Shanghai, China's commercial hub, by the end of June. At a press conference, Shanghai Mayor Gong Ming said, "From June 1 to mid or late June, we will transition to a normal virus control system," adding, "Daily life and production will fully return to normal."

The announcement marks the end of the "large-scale population lockdown" policy that had pushed the global supply chain to its limits due to work stoppages and travel bans, according to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP). Recently, production at factories worldwide was halted due to shortages of Chinese-made parts, with ripple effects spreading to related factories in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

The city authorities have already allowed some shopping centers, supermarkets, restaurants, and beauty salons to reopen starting on the 16th, beginning with residential areas where no local infections had been reported for the past two weeks.

However, this "temporary reopening" did not boost China's stock market. On the same day, the China CSI 300 index fell 0.7% in early trading, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index declined 0.4%, continuing their downward trend.