Business activities and everyday life in Shanghai are expected to return to normal by late June, according to a three-phase plan announced by Vice Mayor Zong Ming. The key task of phase one, which was completed last week, was to continue reducing new infections and preventing rebounds, and to continue reducing the number of people in locked-down and controlled zones. Phase two, from May 22 to May 31, focuses on the city’s transition from emergency response to normalized epidemic prevention and control.
From June 1, the city will embark on phase three, which aims to fully normalize daily life and business activities. Four Metro and 273 bus lines in Shanghai restarted operations on May 22 to connect downtown districts, airports, railway stations and hospitals. A negative test within the last 48 hours is required to use public transport. The number of arriving and departing trains is also increasing at Hongqiao and Shanghai railway stations. In some downtown areas, an e-pass is required for vehicles to hit the road, while taxis can be booked for emergency needs. Shanghai's postal and express delivery services are expected to resume full operation by mid-June. The daily average parcel collection and delivery volume in Shanghai has reached more than 4.6 million, one-fifth of the city’s normal level. The number of new cases in Shanghai fell to the lowest level since March 20 and there was zero transmission in the community. As of May 20, some 560,000 residents, about 2.2% of the city’s 25 million, were still living in high-risk “lockdown zones” – areas which have reported new cases over the past two weeks.
In Beijing, all 670 students and staff of the Fangshan campus of the Beijing Institute of Technology have been transferred to an isolation facility following a Covid-19 outbreak on campus, and 4,979 residents in a community in Beijing's Chaoyang district were transferred to 57 hotels for a seven-day centralized quarantine after 26 confirmed Covid-19 cases were detected in eight buildings since the compound has been locked down on May 12. Beijing is scrambling to contain an Omicron outbreak that has dragged on for almost a month – despite authorities sealing off a number of residential areas, ordering frequent mass testing, closing entertainment venues and imposing other curbs. Neighboring Tianjin municipality reported 68 new cases probably related to imported cold chain food. Prof. Li Daokui from Tsinghua University said more should be done to stabilize the economy as this also means protecting lives. Beijing reported 63 new infections on May 23, bringing the total in the latest outbreak to 1,556. Judging by the current situation, Beijing's epidemic can be curbed in about two to four weeks, experts said.
China has adjusted its pre-departure requirement for overseas travelers as announcements from multiple Chinese embassies show that some previously required pre-departure tests have been removed, including nucleic acid testing one or two weeks prior to boarding, mandatory health monitoring and IgM antibody testing. Under the newly adjusted rules, people traveling to China will only be required to complete two nucleic acid tests within 48 hours and one antigen test within 12 hours before boarding. Those who test negative will be given a health code and allowed to board the plane. There will be no additional requirements for those who have recovered from infections.
The single-dose Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s CanSino Biologics received an emergency use authorization from the World Health Organization (WHO). The adenovirus vector vaccine Convidecia is the 11th worldwide and the third in China to receive the clearance. The vaccine has been found to be 92% effective against severe Covid-19 and 64% effective in preventing people from getting symptoms of the disease. WHO authorization is a prerequisite for vaccine makers to provide supplies to the COVAX program that distributes vaccines to low and middle-income countries.
Premier Li Keqiang has pledged to extend stronger support to foreign businesses in China to solve disruptions in their operations caused by Covid-19 outbreaks, saying that the nation remains committed to making itself a top destination for foreign investment. Li said the government will come up with solutions to the problems faced by foreign businesses and provide them with better services as the pandemic continues to disrupt industrial, supply and logistics chains.
Several major European airlines have warned that they will not be able to add more flights to Hong Kong if the city’s Covid-19 restrictions remain while the rest of the world opens up rapidly from the pandemic. They said they were more likely to fly to places with fewer or no restrictions, including allowing aircrew to move about freely during layovers. Industry leaders also warned that the city could take years to regain its status as an aviation hub, while rival Singapore stood to gain after relaxing its restrictions for travelers. Although Hong Kong eased some restrictions on May 1, the industry remained unhappy with the seven-day compulsory quarantine for all arrivals. With Singapore and Bangkok now easier for travelers to transit through, airlines were shifting demand away from Hong Kong to those hubs. Hong Kong International Airport handled only 126,000 passengers last month, compared with 6.49 million in April 2019.
Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Guangdong province saw 230 international freight trains depart for overseas destinations in the first four months of this year, demonstrating a strong rebound in the southern province’s foreign trade and economy. The figure represented a year-on-year growth of 91.6%, statistics from Guangdong Customs revealed. The growing number of freight trains that set out mainly from prosperous Pearl River Delta cities in the province headed to destinations in central Europe, central Asia and Southeast Asia.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, Shanghai Daily, Global Times and South China Morning Post.
