Shanghai to lift Covid lockdown

A worker dismantles barriers at a residential area, as the city prepares to end the lockdown placed to curb the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China May 31, 2022.

Shanghai authorities on Tuesday began dismantling fences around housing compounds and ripping police tape off public squares and buildings, to the relief of the city's 25 million residents, before a painful two-month lockdown is lifted at midnight.

On Monday evening, some of the people allowed out of their compounds for brief walks took advantage of suspended traffic to congregate for a beer and ice cream on deserted streets, but there was a sense of wariness and anxiety among residents.

"I feel a little nervous," said Joseph Mak, who works in education. "It's hard to believe it's actually happening."

Most will be stuck indoors again until midnight, as they have been for the past two months under a ruthlessly enforced lockdown that has caused income losses, stress and despair to millions struggling to access food or get emergency healthcare.