People take cover from rain at Sun Park on the day of its reopening after the government eased some of the restrictions, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in Beijing, China May 29, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia RawlinsShanghai to remove many COVID curbs on firmsBeijing reopens some public transport, some malls
The painful coronavirus curbs in major Chinese cities run counter to trends seen in the rest of the world, which has largely tried to return to normal life even as infections spread.Shanghai, China's most populous city, will end many conditions for businesses to resume work from June 1. The city also launched measures to support its economy, including reducing some taxes on car purchases, accelerating issuance of local government bonds, and speeding up approvals of real estate projects.
But many of the priority companies had suppliers who were unable to reopen and so they still faced logistical bottlenecks. People entering public venues or taking public transport would need to show a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours, up from 48 hours previously. Private cars are not allowed out without approval, and most of the city's public transport is shut. Authorities have yet to announced detailed plans for how the lockdown will be lifted.In the capital Beijing, libraries, museums, theatres and gyms were allowed to reopen on Sunday, though with limits on numbers of people, in districts that have seen no community COVID cases for seven consecutive days.