Sharjah24 – Reuters: Some residents of Shanghai stepped out of their homes for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday, as the city took tentative steps towards easing a COVID-19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs.
Shanghai said on Monday that more than 7,000 residential units had been classified as lower-risk areas after reporting no new infections for 14 days, and its districts have since been announcing which specific compounds can be opened up.
But while some people were allowed out of their residences on Tuesday, there was still confusion about the extent to which those in the lower-risk zones were free to move, with many still awaiting permission from their residential committees.
City health official Wu Qianyu said at a press briefing that residents from lower-risk zones known as "prevention areas" were still subject to controls and would have to observe strict social distancing measures.
Premier Li Keqiang warned on Monday that China needed to be "highly vigilant" against further downward pressures on the economy and said the fight against COVID-19 needed to be "coordinated" with economic and social development.
Shanghai recorded 22,348 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases on April 11, down from 25,173 a day earlier. Confirmed symptomatic cases stood at 994, up from 914.
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