Shanghai reopens subway partially even as some areas tighten curbs

SHANGHAI/BEIJING • Shanghai reopened a small part of the world's longest subway system yesterday after some lines had been closed for almost two months, as the city paves the way for a more complete lifting of its painful Covid-19 lockdown next week.

With most residents not allowed to leave their homes and restrictions tightening in parts of China's most populous city, commuters who were out early yesterday needed strong reasons to travel.

Shanghai's lockdown and curbs in other cities have battered consumption, industrial output and other sectors of the economy in recent months, prompting pledges of support from policymakers.

Many who ventured out in the commercial hub wore blue protective gowns and face shields. Inside the carriages, passengers were seen keeping some empty seats between themselves. Crowds were small.

Mr Xu Jihua, a migrant construction worker, arrived at a subway stop before it opened at 7am, hoping to get to a rail station, then home to the eastern province of Anhui.

"Work stopped on March 16," said Mr Xu, adding that he has not been able to earn his monthly salary of 7,000 to 8,000 yuan (S$1,400 to S$1,600) since then and would return to Shanghai only when he is sure he can find work. "Is the lockdown really lifting or not? It's not very clear."

A woman who asked to be identified only by her surname Li said she needed to visit her father in a hospital 8km from her final stop.

"I'm going to the heart hospital, but I don't know whether there will be any cars or transport once I get to the railway station," Ms Li said. "I might have to walk there."

Four of the 20 lines reopened, and 273 bus routes. Some had closed in late March, others later, although sporadic service continued with a limited number of stops.

The city of 25 million expects to lift its city-wide lockdown and return to more normal life from June 1. Most restrictions on movement will remain in place this month.

Shanghai's 800km metro system averaged 7.7 million rides a day in 2020, according to the latest data, with an annual passenger throughput of 2.8 billion.

Trains will run 20 minutes apart for limited hours.

Commuters must scan their body temperature at the entrance and show negative results of Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction tests taken within 48 hours.

Shanghai has gradually reopened convenience stores and wholesale markets and allowed more people to leave their homes, with community transmissions largely eliminated.

Still, parts of the city have recently tightened curbs, underlying the difficulty of resuming normal life under China's zero-Covid-19 policy, which is increasingly at odds with the rest of the world.

Jingan, a key commercial district, said on Saturday it will require all shops to shut and residents to stay home until at least tomorrow, as it carries out mass testing.

The use of exit permits - previously given to residents that allowed them to leave their homes for short walks - will be suspended, the authorities said without giving a reason.

Similar actions were announced last Friday in the Hongkou district as well as on Saturday by Qingpu district's Zhaoxiang town, which said they wanted to "consolidate" the results of their epidemic prevention efforts so far.

Shanghai reported fewer than 700 daily cases yesterday.

Significantly, none was outside quarantined areas, as has been the case for much of the past week.

The capital Beijing reported 61 cases, down from 70.

REUTERS