Shanghai has set out plans to return to normal life beginning June 1, ending what has been a painful Covid lockdown that has lasted more than six weeks and contributed to a sharp decline in China’s economic activity.
Deputy Mayor Zong Ming set out the clearest timetable to date today, saying that Shanghai’s reopening would happen in stages. Curbs on movement will mostly remain in place until May 21 in order to prevent a rebound in Covid infections before the gradual ease begins.
He said that from June 1 to mid and late June, as long as risks of a rebound are controlled, Shanghai will implement fully an epidemic prevention and control strategy, and restore normal production and life in the city.
Shanghai’s full lockdown and other Covid curbs on hundreds of millions of people in other cities have hurt retail sales, employment and industrial production. It has added to fears that the economy could shrink in the second quarter.
While most of the world has been lifting Covid rules even as infections spread, Shanghai locked down completely, sending shockwaves through global supply chains and international trade.
The lockdown has been hard for those in Shanghai, who have been unable to leave their homes for weeks on end.
Beijing never enforced as intense of a city-wide lockdown, but had been tightening curbs to the point that road traffic levels were comparative to Shanghai’s.
It shows how difficult it is to tackle the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
How strong China’s rebound will be is uncertain due to the country’s uncompromising “zero Covid” policy of completely eliminating all outbreaks at all costs.
Data released today shows that China’s industrial output fell almost 3 percent in April from a year earlier. Retail sales shrank 11.1 percent year-on-year. Both were well below expectations. There is hope economic activity has been improving in May, but it remains to be seen.
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