Shanghai's daily Covid-19 death toll fell by the most since fatalities were reported in China's commercial hub two weeks ago, reinforcing the push by local authorities to gradually ease the citywide lockdown and restart production at more factories.

Fatalities fell 19 per cent to 38 in the previous 24 hours, according to data released on Sunday. Total cases fell 14.4 per cent to 7,872, the eighth consecutive day of decline, while symptomatic cases slumped 37 per cent to 788.

New cases in the low-risk unguarded zones hit zero for the second consecutive day, adding to evidence that Shanghai had achieved the so-called societal zero-Covid goal, a situation when new cases are limited to people already in quarantine.

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Stopping the spread outside quarantined areas is a key metric for Chinese officials as they seek to reopen their cities. The country's most developed metropolis with a population of 25 million has yet to publish a time frame for lifting the citywide lockdown that started on April 1.

"Shanghai remains cautious about announcing it had achieved societal zero-Covid goal because the highly transmissible Omicron variant could easily rebound if there is a let-up in virus control measures," said Meng Tianying, a senior executive at Shanghai-based consultancy Domo Medical.

"But city officials are set to ease lockdown measures gradually from now on," Meng said.

Gu Honghui, deputy secretary general of Shanghai government, told a press briefing on Sunday that people living in six districts - Songjiang, Putuo, Jinshan, Fengxian, Chongming and Qingpu - were allowed to venture out on to the streets because they had achieved societal zero-Covid goal.

But he added that only a limited number of people would be allowed to move around in limited areas.

"We emphasise that an easing of the lockdown does not necessarily lead to a complacency in virus control," Gu said. "We still urge people not to leave their residential compounds to avoid gathering unless necessary."

Since mid-April, Shanghai has been aiming to bring new cases in the "precautionary zones"- or areas in which not a single new case was detected in the past 14 days - and their neighbouring areas to zero. After achieving this, the municipal government will then shift its focus to preventing the disease from spilling beyond the highest risk areas and hospitals into the wider community.

The city's residential compounds, villages and business locations are classified into three zones - lockdown, control and precaution - with different levels of risks and corresponding measures, as a way of controlling the virus while enabling restricted movement for residents.

Shanghai to let another 1,188 manufacturers resume production after Covid-19 cases stabilise

Since the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was first detected on March 1, 570,000 Shanghai residents have been infected, causing 422 deaths.

Public transport in the city is suspended and private cars are barred from the roads, with most residents restricted to their homes.

But as cases continue to fall, deliveries by supermarkets and online grocery platforms are increasing, and the overall mood among the city's residents is turning more optimistic, according to an expatriate living in Shanghai, who declined to be named.

On Saturday, the municipal government said it would allow another 1,188 manufacturers to resume production, as it plans on allowing more shops, restaurants and bank branches to reopen in a step-by-step approach to get the ailing local economy back on track.

They, along with the first batch of 666 manufacturers, which includes Tesla and China's chip champion Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, will be required to operate under the "closed-loop" system - workers essentially sleeping on site to avoid contact with outsiders.

Key manufacturing businesses in the automotive, life science, chemical and semiconductor sectors will be given priority on the so-called white list as Shanghai eases virus prevention and control measures.

Meanwhile, more patients are being discharged from hospitals following their recovery from Covid-19 infection. A total of 3,447 Covid-19 patients were sent home on the Chinese mainland on Saturday, the National Health Commission said in its Sunday report, which was cited by Xinhua news agency.

That brought the mainland's total number of Covid-19 patients discharged from hospitals to 187,525 as of Saturday.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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