Shanghai to try to ease 7-week virus lockdown in a few days

BEIJING (AP) — An official says Shanghai will try again to reopen in a few days after it has eliminated COVID-19 transmission among the general population. An outbreak is waning in the city, which is in the seventh week of a strict lockdown that has been lifted and then reinforced at times to the frustration of residents. The lockdown is part of the ruling Communist Party’s “zero-COVID” policy that has exacted a mounting economic toll and that even the World Health Organization says may be unsustainable. Shanghai Vice Mayor Wu Qing says eliminating the virus in the community will allow for an “orderly opening” some time in mid-May. He didn’t specify a date or say how the reopening would occur.