Sharjah24 – Reuters: Some of Shanghai's 25 million people came out for brief walks and grocery shopping on Tuesday after enduring more than a month under a COVID lockdown, while China's capital Beijing embarked on another round of mass testing to control a nascent outbreak.
Social media posts showed Shanghai residents strolling in their suburbs, or queuing up at supermarkets that had been allowed to reopen. One picture showed two women carrying a pole with four bulky bags of groceries on their shoulders.
That was the result of an incremental easing of curbs in five of the city's 16 districts from Sunday, home to about a fifth of Shanghai's population, where some people were allowed to leave their housing compounds for the first time in weeks.
The level of the restrictions varied from one residential complex to another. In many compounds, a single person from each household could go out at a time, for a maximum three hours.
Most do not get permission to drive or even ride a bike, prompting jokes on social media.
Increasingly out of step with most other countries which have significantly eased or even completely lifted coronavirus restrictions, China has given no hint of deviating from its "zero COVID" policy.
China has accepted a heavy economic cost and demanded huge personal sacrifices from millions forced into prolonged isolation.
For an optimal experience, please
