After 2 month Covid lockdown, Shanghai residents finally breathe free

The relaxations, which came into force from Tuesday midnight, have allowed most people to move freely as about 650,000 residents will remain confined to their homes.
According to BBC, China's overall policy of "zero Covid" remains in place and people catching Covid face quarantine or hospital.

The close contacts of infected people will also face the prospect of confinement in quarantine and the area they live would be locked down again.

Shanghai government spokeswoman Yin Xin said, "This is a day that we dreamed of for a very long time. Everyone has sacrificed a lot. This day has been hard-won and we need to cherish and protect it, and welcome back the Shanghai we are familiar with and missed."

There are new rules too: residents are required to show a green health code on their smartphone to leave their home compounds or buildings and access most places; those who want to use public transport or go to the banks, malls etc must have a negative PCR test certificate valid in the last 72 hours; and restrictions on leaving Shanghai remain, with anyone travelling to another city facing quarantine of 7-14 days on their return, BBC reported.

However, the restrictions have failed to stem the joy and relief felt by people.

BBC quoted one of the residents as saying, "We were locked down too many days. We need to celebrate. It is life. Not just me - all the Shanghai people here. All the bad things [have] gone past, so tomorrow will be fine. We are free. I am so happy, I want to work. I want to work tomorrow."

(With UNI inputs)