Reopening is inching slowly forwards in China’s cities. Some encouraging news.
For example:
Beijing
- libraries, museums, theatres and gyms were allowed to reopen on Sunday, (limits on numbers of people) in districts that have seen no community COVID cases for seven consecutive days.
- Fangshan and Shunyi districts will end work-from-home rules, public transport will largely resum
- Restaurant dining remains banned throughout the city
Shanghai:
- bus services within the Pudong New Area, home to Shanghai’s largest airport and the main financial district, would resume by Monday
- some malls reopened on the weekend
- further easings are set for Wednesday’
Its been quiet in Shanghai for the past months. The lockdown all began with a 3 day shut in back in March… that went on and on. Many cities right around the world are familiar with the pattern, an announcement of a short lockdown that gets extended, and extended. Most got over it in 2020, some persisted with the pattern in to 2021. China is still doing it as we approach the halfway mark of 2022. In a democracy there would be paths open to question such mismanagement but in an autocratic state, not so much. The economic costs, domestically and globally, are still be reckoned with.