- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
Shanghai prepares to lift more Covid curbs after lengthy lockdown
Shanghai authorities said Tuesday they will lift more restrictions in steps to return the Covid-hit city to normality, after two months of heavy-handed restrictions that throttled businesses and locked down residents.
The commercial hub of 25 million was shuttered in sections from late March, when an Omicron-variant spread in China's worst outbreak since the virus first emerged in the country in late 2019.
China is wedded to a zero-Covid strategy of hard lockdowns, mass testing and long quarantine periods to wipe out clusters.
But after gradually relaxing some rules over past weeks, officials said on Tuesday that residents living in areas deemed low risk will be allowed to move around the city freely, a major step toward ending the curbs.
The easing of restrictions will apply to around 22 million people, deputy mayor Zong Ming told reporters.
"From June 1, the city will enter the third stage, that is, the stage of fully restoring the normal production and living order of the city," Zong said.
Malls, convenience stores, pharmacies and beauty salons will be allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity, while parks and other scenic spots will gradually reopen, she added.
But cinemas and gyms remain closed.
Schools -- shut since mid-March -- will slowly reopen on a voluntary basis.
Local media showed photos of orange-clad workers dismantling some of the barriers that had penned in districts across the city for weeks.
Previously, residents in areas without any coronavirus cases had to carry passes that only allowed them to out for a few hours to buy essentials.
Taxi services and private cars will also be allowed in low-risk areas, allowing people to visit friends and family outside their district.
Buses, subway and ferry services will also resume, Liu Bin, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Transportation, said.
Shanghai residents travelling to other cities in China still need to quarantine, and residents need a negative test taken within 72 hours to enter most public places.
Communities considered "high risk" will also still have stringent restrictions on movement.
Factories and businesses were also gearing up to restart work after being dormant for weeks, with the gruelling measures bringing the city to a standstill.
Shanghai official Wu Qing told reporters Sunday that the city would "eliminate unreasonable restrictions" and announced a slew of measures to shore up Shanghai's virus-battered economy.
But residents and business owners have complained of discrepancies between official announcements and enforcement.
China's biggest city has reported over 63,000 Covid infections and nearly 600 deaths since mid-March.
The heavy-handed lockdown led to an outpouring of online anger, while others banged pots and pans in protest for days as the city ran out of fresh fruits and vegetables and several residents died without access to emergency medical care for other conditions.
The city reported 31 new infections Tuesday.
V.F.Barreira--PC