Coronavirus: Shanghai officials eye reopening, manufacturing resumption as new Covid-19 cases fall to a 24-day low

Local officials are working on plans for reopening public transport, retail outlets, and a wider range of manufacturing sites.

Authorities detected 10,622 infections over the last 24 hours, 21.7 per cent fewer than a day earlier, according to data released on Thursday.

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Residents lined up for a round of Covid-19 testing in Shanghai on April 27, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 11:09am, 28 Apr 2022Updated: 1:18pm, 31 May 2022

New Covid-19 cases in Shanghai fell for the fifth consecutive day, plunging to a 24-day low and prompting city officials to work on plans for restarting manufacturing, public transport, and retail in the mainland’s financial capital.

Authorities detected 10,622 infections over the last 24 hours, 21.7 per cent fewer than a day earlier, according to data released on Thursday. Symptomatic cases fell 19.6 per cent to 1,292, also the fifth straight day of decline, while 47 patients died. Cumulative cases since the outbreak started in Shanghai on March 1 hit 544,000.

With the virus outbreak appearing to stabilise, business leaders are eager to get back to work.

“It is a positive sign that the virus has slowed its pace of spreading,” said Wang Feng, chairman of Shanghai-based financial services group Ye Lang Capital. “It is time for Shanghai government to implement its plan to drastically resume production and commercial activities.”

Medical personnel in protective gear rode scooters through Nanjing street in Shanghai on April 25, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE

The municipal government has yet to publish a time frame for lifting the citywide lockdown that began on April 1. However, local officials are now working on detailed operating guides governing the reopening of public transport and retail outlets, as well as production resumption at a wider range of manufacturing sites, according to two Shanghai government officials.

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