What’s new: Shanghai announced Tuesday that it has achieved the goal of no community spread in all of its 16 districts, a key milestone in its over two-month battle with Covid that could embolden authorities to further ease restrictions.
The city hit the milestone three days before the target of Friday. This means all of the city’s new cases in the past three days were found among those in centralized quarantine or confined to their homes.
Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, made the announcement at a press conference, while saying some 860,000 residents are currently stuck at home. The financial hub has struggled to contain its worst ever Covid-19 outbreak, reporting 823 local infections Monday, all in quarantine, local authorities said.
The background: The announcement came just a day after the city authorities said they had laid out a three-phase plan to gradually lift restrictions by the end of June, including a weeks-long lockdown which has triggered discontent among residents.
On Monday, local authorities said 15 of the city’s 16 districts had stamped out community spread.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com)
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