BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese city of Chengdu will on Thursday lift a full COVID-19 lockdown in all districts still facing curbs as a recent outbreak comes under control, local authorities said.
Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province, was locked down on Sept. 1 after COVID cases were detected, becoming the largest Chinese metropolis hit with curbs since Shanghai’s lockdown in April and May.
Some districts in Chengdu, a city of more than 21 million people, have started to exit from a full lockdown since Sept. 8.
According to the latest COVID guidelines released late on Wednesday, residents of districts still under a full lockdown will no longer face limits on how frequently they can leave their homes, except for some areas that are still fighting community infections.
Public transportation will resume and workplaces will reopen, the authorities said.
“On Sept. 15, normal production and daily life will be gradually restored in an orderly manner, and the city’s (COVID) prevention and control measures will be adjusted accordingly,” Chengdu authorities said in an online statement.
Other public spaces such as schools, KTV lounges, internet cafes, gyms, swimming pools, museums and libraries will continue to be closed.
Nonessential travel out of Chengdu is also discouraged, and residents who need to leave the city must show negative COVID results from tests taken within 24 hours prior to departure.
China has been battling to contain the highly transmissible Omicron variant, imposing lockdowns of various degrees to stop its spread. Shanghai was locked down in April and May while Xian, Shenzhen and Guiyang have also undergone lockdowns and restrictions.
Chengdu reported 35 new locally transmitted COVID infections on Tuesday, down from 44 a day earlier, according to city government data on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Roxanne Liu; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
