Shanghai residents celebrated on Wednesday, June 1, when authorities ended a two-month lockdown of the city.
While most countries have adjusted to “living with the virus,” China maintains its zero-COVID strategy, imposing stringent lockdowns when COVID-19 cases tick up.
Counting down to midnight, people in Shanghai congregated outside in numbers previously prohibited. Some toasted the end of the lockdown with Champagne. Others took selfies with friends. Drinking and dancing in the city’s parks carried into the morning.
Authorities allowed most of the city’s population of 26 million to return to some measure of public life. However, roughly 2 million residents remain under lockdown because their neighborhoods were still designated “high-risk” for COVID-19 transmission.
Lockdowns require residents to stay inside their homes unless granted an exemption. Millions endured two months of state-mandated quarantine, sometimes with insufficient provisions like food and medicine. Shanghai authorities ordered the lockdown so quickly many residents did not have time to shop and stock up on necessary items.
Even with the lockdown ended, one woman named Dong told Reuters she was not feeling very celebratory. “It’s not like the happiness you feel when you welcome the New Year. It’s very complicated. The last two months have not been easy for anyone,” she said.
While most residents were “allowed” to stay in their homes, many who tested positive for COVID-19 or came into contact with someone who tested positive had to report to quarantine camps with barebone facilities, according to Reuters.
A banker named Chen told Nikkei Asia, “I am glad the nightmare has ended.” He explained how authorities had hauled him off to a quarantine facility after coming into contact with someone who tested positive. He called it a “horrifying experience.”
While a semblance of normalcy is returning, some lockdown measures remain. According to Nikkei Asia, inside dining at restaurants is still prohibited, and movie theaters and gyms are still closed.
Additionally, residents must provide a recent negative COVID test to ride public transportation or enter certain buildings.
Commuters, bus drivers, police, and city workers all appear to be taking masking very seriously. Some workers at public-facing desks even wear full hazmat suits. Underlying the widespread concern with masking, according to Reuters, is the fear of a return to lockdown.
That fear was almost immediately realized for some Shanghai residents on June 2, one day after the official lockdown ended. In four neighborhoods, an uptick in positive COVID-19 cases prompted authorities to designate the areas “medium-risk.”
Officials ordered residents to stay in their homes for 14 days.