Lock-down Shanghai Mall slowly, to start reopening other businesses

SHANGHAI – Shanghai’s Chinese financial and manufacturing center will gradually reopen businesses such as shopping malls and hair salons from Monday, weeks after a severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown, the city’s vice mayor said in a media briefing on Sunday.

Shanghai, which has been locked-down for more than six weeks, is in the midst of recent tensions in some areas that it is hoping to deliver a final push in the fight against the virus.

Shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets will resume in-store activities and allow consumers to shop “in an orderly manner”, while hair salons and vegetable markets will reopen with limited capacity, said Vice Mayor Chen Tong, but did not specify. The speed or range of the type reopening.

During the lockdown in Shanghai, residents were largely confined to buying essentials, while general shopping on online platforms was largely suspended.

Shanghai will soon announce a third “white list” of more than 820 companies engaged in imports and exports, which could resume operations, a city official said. – Reuters