The goal will require officials to speed up tests for COVID and the transfer of positive cases to quarantine centers, according to a speech by a local Communist Party official on Saturday, a copy of which was seen by Reuters. The community-wide shutdown was a turning point for other Chinese locations that closed, such as Shenzhen, which reopened public transportation last month and allowed businesses to return to work shortly after that goal. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Shanghai has been the epicenter of China’s biggest epidemic since the Wuhan virus was first detected in late 2019, and has recorded more than 320,000 coronavirus infections since its inception in early March. Disappointed Shanghai residents have used social media to vent their anger at local authorities over food supply difficulties, lost income, separated families and poor conditions in central quarantine centers. Tensions have erupted from time to time in public protests or clashes with police. read more The Chinese economy and global supply chains are also feeling overwhelmed by closed factories and transportation bottlenecks in many areas of China hit by COVID-19 curbs. read more Shanghai has already taken piecemeal measures to ease the restrictions. State television reported on Sunday that some supermarkets had reopened their doors to shoppers, although many residents expressed disbelief in the social media posts. A social media account backed by the Shanghai government said it was located in a suburb. TURNING POINT Shanghai’s new goal of “zero Covid at community level” by April 20 has been announced in recent days to the city’s Communist Party officials and organizations such as schools, according to sources, who declined to be named as the information was not available. public. China’s definition of zero COVID at Community level means that no new cases occur outside quarantined areas. A speech on Saturday by the party’s Baoshan district secretary described it as an order that came as the city’s situation reached a “critical juncture”, with growing public concern and pressure for food supply. “The State Council Working Group, the party’s municipal committee and the municipal government have called for the epidemic to be reached at 17 and for COVID to be zero at 20,” Chen Jie said in a speech. The Shanghai Government and the State Council of China did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Baoshan district government could not be reached by telephone outside of office hours on Sunday. Residents queue for nucleic acid test during a lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) pandemic in Shanghai, China, April 16, 2022. REUTERS / Aly Song / File Photo “This is a military order, there is no room for negotiation, we can only grit our teeth and fight for victory. It can also be said that this is a complete attack, a final battle to reverse the trend of the epidemic.” said the speech. A Shanghai resident told Reuters the neighborhood committee sent a warning to residents Sunday that more workers and buses had mobilized to speed up the transmission of positive cases in their area to quarantine centers. Pictures and videos posted on Chinese social media on Saturday night showed several buses lined up to disperse long queues of people who were said to have tested positive for COVID outside a city in Shanghai’s eastern Pudong district. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the posts. Of the 23,643 new local infections reported in Shanghai on Saturday, 722 were quarantined, according to Wu Jingley, director of the Shanghai Health Committee. He told a news conference on Sunday that the number had dropped over the past two days. RECONSTRUCTION OF BUSINESS China’s “dynamic clean-up” approach to COVID control requires authorities to quarantine all cases and isolate their close contacts. Beijing authorities intervened in Shanghai in early April after the economic hub failed to isolate COVID-19 despite gradually closing the city. Chinese President Xi Jinping has insisted that China should not relax measures on the coronavirus and should adhere to an eradication approach. read more Shanghai began blocking areas east of the Huangpu River on March 28 and extended the lockdown throughout the city on April 1. While it eased travel restrictions on some residents last week, most businesses remain closed and public transport has been suspended. Business leaders are increasingly honest about the impact of lockdowns on the Chinese economy, with automakers warning that they may be forced to shut down production altogether if their suppliers in Shanghai and neighboring areas can not continue to work soon. read more On Friday, China Regulatory Authority said it had identified 666 companies in Shanghai in the semiconductor, automotive and medical sectors as priority companies that needed to continue operating. read more Late Saturday, Shanghai authorities provided guidance on what companies need to do to restart production in the city, such as storing medical supplies and submitting COVID prevention plans for their factories. Reuters reported that Tesla (TSLA.O) is preparing to reopen its Shanghai plant on April 18. read more SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS), the Chinese partner of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and General Motors (GM.N), said it was preparing to resume production and would begin “stress tests” on Monday. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report from the Shanghai Newsroom. Edited by Edmund Klamann Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
