Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai, China ends after two months

The lockdown against Covid-19 in Shanghai expired at midnight on Wednesday (local time), after two months of duration. There have been celebrations in the city, but there are fears of a possible new outbreak of the disease.

The majority of Shanghai’s 25 million residents can now freely leave their homes, go back to work, use the public transportation system and drive themselves – a moment many felt would never come.

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Shanghai is the largest city in the world China

In the middle of the night, small groups gathered in the former French Concession neighborhood and whistled, chanting “Block lifted!” And roast it with glasses of champagne.

Earlier, the streets were lively, with residents strolling in the lawns and children riding their bicycles on the car-free roads. Dancing retirees, a nighttime scene familiar in Chinese cities, are making their first appearance in months in public squares and open spaces along the Huangpu River.

Shanghai Disneyland, which has not yet announced when it will reopen, broadcast a light show celebrating “the lifting of the lockdown in Shanghai.” A Chinese expression that also means “ban” was used, and municipal authorities avoided this.

The Shanghai experiment has become emblematic of what some criticize as the unsustainability of the company’s zero-tolerance policy. China Against Covid-19, which seeks to cut the entire chain of transmission of the virus at any cost, even as most of the world tries to return to normal despite continuing infections.