Officials in Shanghai have announced plans to reopen China’s largest city on Wednesday following a two-month Covid lockdown.
Vice mayor Zong Ming told a news conference on Tuesday that full bus and subway services will resume, as will basic rail connections with the rest of China.
The epidemic has been effectively controlled, she said, adding that the city of more than 26 million people will begin the process of fully restoring work and life.
A return to classrooms will take place on a voluntary basis for students.
Meanwhile, shopping malls, supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies will continue to reopen gradually with no more than 75 per cent of their total capacity.
However, cinemas and gyms will remain closed.
Authorities, who set June 1 as the target date for reopening, appear ready to accelerate what has been a gradual easing in recent days.
The city has seen a few shopping malls and markets reopen, with some residents allowed passes for them to venture out for a few hours at a time.
In the Changning district, the passes allowed one person from each household to go to the shop for 40 minutes and spend up to 500 yuan (£59.53).
Residents were advised to walk or ride a bicycle to the shop and told to queue at the entrance two metres apart.
People have used online chat groups to express their excitement about the prospect of being able to move about freely in the city for the first time since the end of March.
However, some remained cautious given the slow pace and stop-and-go nature of opening up so far.
Shanghai recorded 29 new cases on Monday, continuing a steady decline from more than 20,000 positive infections a day in April.
On Monday, Li Qiang, the top official from China’s ruling Communist Party in Shanghai, was quoted as saying that the city had made major achievements in fighting the outbreak through continuous struggle.
The two-month lockdown was imposed as part of China’s ‘zero-Covid’ strategy to eliminate outbreaks, using mass testing and isolation at centralised facilities for anyone who tests positive.
Latest economic data shows that China’s manufacturing activity started to rebound in May as the government rolled back some containment measures.
Schools will reopen for the final two years of high school and the third year of middle school, but students can decide whether to attend in person, while other grades and kindergarten remain closed.
Outdoor tourist sites will start reopening Wednesday, with indoor sites set to follow in late June, the city’s tourism authority said.
Group tours from other provinces will be allowed again when the city has eliminated all high- and medium-risk pandemic zones.
