Shanghai, which is battling the biggest coronavirus outbreak in China’s history, has gradually allowed more businesses to reopen and allowed more residents to leave their homes for the first time since almost seven weeks.
The city “is striving to achieve a full resumption of work and production as soon as possible,” Deputy Mayor Zhang Wei said at a press briefing.
“The pace of resumption of work” will be based on the epidemic prevention situation, he said, adding that for the rest of May, many workers will remain in “closed loop”, which often involves employees live in their place of work.
The stability of Shanghai’s energy, water and information infrastructure throughout the epidemic “ensures that the city’s pulse has the strength to beat after the downturn, and also supports the continued recovery of the economy.” economy of the city,” he said.
After nearly two months of disruption, cargo deliveries are gradually returning to normal, Zhang said, with daily container throughput at Shanghai ports now at around 90 percent of levels a year ago.
Freight throughput at Pudong Airport has reached 70 percent of last year’s levels, while cargo vehicles entering and leaving the city have returned to two-thirds.
Yu Fulin, an official with Shanghai’s transportation commission, said at the briefing that the city would start restoring major inter-district public transportation on May 22. The priority would be to reopen roads connecting the city’s airports, train stations and hospitals, he said.