Shanghai will try to ease 7-week virus lockdown in few days

BEIJING (AP) — Shanghai will try again to reopen in a few days after it has eliminated COVID-19 transmission among the population at large as an outbreak in China's largest city subsides, an official said Friday.

The strict lockdown of the city — now in its seventh week but moved, lifted and reinforced at times to the frustration of residents — is part of the ruling Communist Party's “zero-COVID” goal that has exacted a mounting economic toll and that even the World Health Organization says may be unsustainable.

The goal in Shanghai is to achieve “elimination in society,” meaning any new cases would only be in people already in isolation, Vice Mayor Wu Qing said at a news conference. That would allow for an “orderly opening, limited (population) flow, and differentiated management,” Wu said.

No exact date beyond the middle of the month was given, nor did Wu say how the reopening would occur except that the city intends to gradually restore industrial production, education and medical services.

Shanghai officials have made similar past assurances, only to see restrictions return even as cases wane in the city of 25 million people.

Complaints about food shortages and other hardships and videos posted online showing people in Shanghai and other areas arguing with police have been deleted by censors.

Amid a much smaller outbreak in Beijing, more daily testing has been ordered, classes have been suspended, people have been ordered to work from home, restaurants are restricted to take-out service and many shops, tourist sites, banks and government offices closed.

Some residential communities are under lockdown and residents have been warned to avoid traveling between city districts.

Shanghai reported 2,096 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, all but 227 of them in people not...