China reopens one city as the 2nd phase of the Shanghai lockdown begins

Key Takeaways:

• Residents of the city of Jilin will be able to move around freely for the first time in more than three weeks starting Friday, according to state broadcaster CCTV, citing a notice issued by the city.
• The majority of the cases have occurred in Jilin Province, which borders North Korea and is located in China's industrial northeast.

Shanghai planned to reopen its eastern half on Thursday while closing its western half. At the same time, authorities in other cities announced the lifting of a citywide lockdown in the province hardest hit by China's ongoing omicron-driven coronavirus outbreak.

For the first time in more than three weeks, residents of the city of Jilin will be able to move around freely starting Friday, according to state broadcaster CCTV, citing a notice issued by the city. 

They will be needed to wear masks and stay one meter (three feet) apart when indoors. It is illegal to hold public gatherings in parks and squares.

COVID-19 has been contained in Jilin city but not in the rest of Jilin province, officials said at a press conference, according to CCTV. Changchun, the provincial capital and a major auto manufacturing center closed since March 11, has made some headway.

Since the initial COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, which devastated the city of Wuhan and other parts of Hubei province, China has been fighting its largest COVID-19 outbreak. 

The majority of the cases have occurred in Jilin Province, located in China's industrial northeast and borders North Korea. Smaller outbreaks have been reported across the country, including in Shanghai, China's financial capital and largest city with a population of 26 million.

Shanghai's two-phase lockdown, which will last eight days, has shook global markets concerned about the potential economic impact. 

According to a monthly survey released Thursday, China's manufacturing activity fell to a five-month low in March, as factories were compelled to halt production due to lockdowns as well as other restrictions.

After a four-day lockdown throughout which residents were tested for the coronavirus as well as isolated if the result was positive, Pudong, the half of Shanghai on the east side of the Huangpu River, was set to reopen at 5 a.m. Friday. On the west bank of the river, Puxi was placed under lockdown at 3 a.m.

In Puxi, approximately 16 million people will be tested. During the four-day lockdown, residents cannot leave their neighborhoods or housing compounds, though groceries and meals are delivered to their complexes.

China reported 8,559 new cases in the previous 24 hours on Thursday, 6,720 of which had no symptoms. A higher percentage of asymptomatic cases has been reported in this outbreak than in previous outbreaks, particularly in Shanghai. About a hundred of the new cases were brought in by people who had recently arrived from other countries.