Beijing to reopen schools, Shanghai declares victory over coronavirus

Gulf Today Report

China reported zero new Covid-19 infections in Shanghai for the first time since March on Saturday, as the country's latest outbreak subsides after months of virus-spurred lockdowns and restrictions.

Beijing on Saturday said it would allow primary and secondary schools to resume in-person classes.

READ MORE

18 migrants die in mass attempt to enter Spain's Melilla

Ukraine forces ordered to withdraw from key battleground city

The two major cities were among several places in China that implemented curbs to stop the spread of the Omicron wave during March to May, with Shanghai imposing a two month-long city-wide lockdown that lifted on June 1.

Earlier, Shanghai's top party boss declared victory over COVID-19 after the city reported zero new local cases for the first time in two months.

A community volunteer disinfects an area before conducting a test for coronavirus in Shanghai. AFP

China is the last major economy still committed to a zero-Covid strategy, stamping out new cases with a combination of targeted lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines.

The economic hub of Shanghai was forced into a months-long lockdown during a Covid surge this spring driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, while the capital Beijing shuttered schools and offices for weeks over a separate outbreak.

The efforts, part of China's adherence to a zero-COVID policy that aims to eradicate all outbreaks, have brought case numbers down but many of the heavy-handed measures have fuelled anger and even rare protests and taken a heavy toll on the economy.

Beijing shut its schools in early May and asked students to move to online learning amid a spike in locally transmitted COVID cases. Senior year students at middle and high schools were allowed to return to classrooms from June 2.

Infections narrowed to a trickle in recent days, with Shanghai on Saturday reporting zero locally-transmitted cases for the first time since the start of the outbreak in early March.