SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Manufacturers such as Tesla (NASDAQ) started reopening their Shanghai factories Monday after the city intensified efforts to end a COVID-19 lockdown which has caused most Chinese businesses to close for almost three weeks.

Two sources confirmed to Reuters that Tesla had recalled employees to its factory in preparation for the restart. According to two sources, Tesla has recalled workers to its factory to prepare for the restart. According to one source, this was due to logistics issues at a supplier.

Tesla has not yet responded to my request for comment.

SAIC Motor, the Chinese subsidiary of Volkswagen (ETR) and General Motors(NYSE:), announced that they would begin stress-testing their production resumption plans starting Monday.

Reuters reported that Shanghai aims to end the spread COVID-19 beyond quarantined zones by Wednesday. Sources told Reuters on Sunday. This would enable a further relaxation of its lockdown. To meet this target, it is increasing testing and transferring positive cases to isolation centers.

China’s biggest city is now under lockdown. Wider restrictions have slowed global trade and taken a toll on China’s second largest economy.

Many residents who have lost their incomes and are separated from their families, as well the difficulties of securing food for themselves, feel helpless in these difficult times.

Shanghai stated previously that they could keep companies open as long as their workers were isolated on the site using “closed loop management”. However, many have found this difficult including Tesla and Volkswagen which closed their plants in April 1.

Even if the workers wanted to remain on-site, it was difficult to procure supplies after Shanghai and other cities implemented COVID-19 curbs. Truck transportation is also severely affected.

BLACK LIST

China’s industry regulator intervened on Friday and published a “whitelist” listing 666 businesses based mainly in Shanghai’s semiconductor, automotive, and medical supply areas. This list was prioritized for future operations.

A company employee on the list was informed by her employer, she did not wish to identify herself as she isn’t authorized to talk publicly about it, that she could either apply for a permit or pick up at home to drive to work.

Shanghai Raas Blood Products Co Ltd (biotechnology) and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (unit of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals), were two other companies that plan to reopen, according to Shanghai Securities News.

According to Saturday’s guidance, companies applying for work should stockpile medical supplies. They also need to establish closed loops to allow workers to travel between home and work.

ZERO-COVID GOAL

Shanghai will be under increasing pressure to implement China’s COVID-19 elimination strategy. Although it has largely prevented the coronavirus from spreading over the past two years, the Omicron variant is threatening the survival rate of the virus.

Wu Qianyu from Shanghai Municipal Health Commission stated Monday that the city will begin a new round daily PCR/antigen testing for residents living in sealed and controlled areas. This is expected to take place from Monday through Thursday.

At a Monday press conference, she stated that “we hope that most of our citizens will continue cooperating as always.”

“So that we can prevent the spread of this virus and achieve zero-COVID in the community as soon as possible. This will allow for normal production and normal life to resume.”

State media reported that Shanghai had performed more than 200,000,000 PCR tests in the past three months, when cases began to rise.

Shanghai reports 21 395 new local infections on Sunday. 561 cases were reported outside of quarantine zones, which is down from 722 Saturday.

Shanghai also announced that three COVID-19-infected people died Sunday. It was the first time that the outbreak had reported any deaths in coronavirus patients.

Two women and one man, aged between 89 to 91, were suffering from chronic health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.