Shanghai to allow dining in at restaurants from Wednesday Coronavirus China

SHANGHAI • Shanghai will gradually resume dining in at restaurants from Wednesday in low-risk areas as well as areas without any community-level spread of Covid-19 during the previous week, a government official said at a briefing yesterday.

The Chinese economic hub lifted a two-month city-wide lockdown on June 1, but many establishments have remained unable to offer indoor dining since mid-March.

There were two local asymptomatic Covid-19 cases in Shanghai outside of quarantine as at 5pm yesterday, ending a two-day streak of no new local infections.

Shanghai Communist Party chief Li Qiang declared victory in defending the city against Covid-19 at a local party congress over the weekend, as the authorities continued to ease measures in the hub of 25 million people.

Meanwhile, the Chinese city of Dandong, which borders North Korea, warned yesterday of a persistent risk of new Covid-19 flareups as it gradually opens up from a weeks-long lockdown.

The city, in the north-eastern Liaoning province, reported seven asymptomatic cases for Saturday - half the total number of cases in all of mainland China for the day.

A local disease control official said there was no clear origin for most of the cases in the current wave, which started on May 24. The official added that the city will carry out mass testings for all residents twice a week, according to a post on the city's WeChat account.

Separately, Beijing reported two local infections as at 3pm yesterday. The capital is set to resume in-person classes for primary and secondary schools today.

The city's education commission spokesman Li Yi said at a media briefing that two months of remote learning is increasingly causing "problems" for students, including on efficiency and their psychological well-being.

In the gaming hub of Macau, the authorities have decided to extend the suspension of public sector activities, except for emergency services, till at least Friday, said a statement on the city government's website. It reported 261 cases in the current outbreak and said a third round of mass testing will be conducted today and tomorrow.

Over in Hong Kong, health officials said yesterday the city had a total of 1,917 new daily Covid-19 cases, continuing a steady uptick in cases days ahead of a planned visit by President Xi Jinping to mark the city's 25th anniversary of Chinese rule. The authorities added that 118 of the new infections were imported, with the rest locally acquired.

On Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported that Mr Xi would attend the annual July 1 ceremonies in Hong Kong. He will also attend the swearing-in of new Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, expected on the same day.

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG