Brenda Goh, Ella Cao

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Shanghai authorities announced Thursday that they would continue to enforce strict restrictions in areas where COVID-19 transmission was reduced to zero. This is as the numbers of people living outside the quarantined zones in the city increased.

This sobering assessment was made after officials from the health department had earlier expressed hope for some normalization by stating that “effectively controlled transmissions” in Shanghai in recent days.

On Thursday, the central Jingan district, which is home to almost 1,000,000 people, and some of its most flashiest malls said that it will no longer permit residents to leave their homes dues to large crowds.

The deputy governor of Chongming, an outlying islands area, stated at a press conference that all curbs would remain in place. However, it reported no cases in areas outside of quarantined zones and 95% of its 640,000 or so residents could now leave their homes.

According to Zhang Zhitong, deputy governor Zhang Zhitong, supermarkets will remain closed to customers, cars won’t be allowed onto roads without approval and one person per household wouldn’t be permitted to leave their home in certain towns in Chongming each day.

He said that residents living in areas of high risk must be careful not to become “free to fly” areas.

On Wednesday in Shanghai, 15,861 coronavirus cases were reported. This is a decrease of 16,407 cases a day before. Up from 2,494, 2,634 cases were diagnosed.

There were 441 cases of new infections outside the quarantined zones, compared to 390 just a few days earlier.

The video, which shows a tension-filled interaction between Jingan’s resident and an official from the neighborhood committee, was distributed widely via Chinese social media Wednesday evening.

A resident repeatedly asks why she can’t go outside, despite being in an area that allows it. She keeps getting the same response: “I told ya we received a notice.” Reuters couldn’t verify authenticity of the video.

A FEW MORE DEATHS

On Wednesday, eight victims of COVID-19 disease died in Shanghai.

Many have stated that COVID-19 was fatal to a loved one, although the cases were not included in official statistics. This raises questions about the accuracy of these claims.

Shanghai’s government didn’t respond to inquiries regarding the death toll.

The Shanghai government is investigating the conduct of three funeral directors who refused to use COVID for funeral services. State media reports that this was reported by them.

Shanghai ordered nearly all residents to remain home in April, after COVID-19 case numbers began to rise. Residents suffered income loss, difficulties getting food, separations from their families, and conditions that were poor in quarantine.

On Thursday, the city council announced that it would investigate complaints from residents regarding expiry dates and quality of duck meat and cooking oils in government rations.

Many businesses are reopening, but they still have to be under closed loop management, which involves living at the site and daily testing.

U.S. Electric Carmaker Tesla (NASDAQ.) Inc has been allowed to resume operation. Its reopening received extensive airtime in state media this week. Industry bodies and economists warn that many factories are still in the midst of logistical problems and may not be able to resume full production.

The majority of Shanghai residents remained at home. According to the European Union Chamber of Commerce, there was a 40-50% reduction in trucks and less than 30% of Shanghai’s workers were eligible for reemployment.

On Thursday, Shanghai’s insurance and banking regulator asked banks to lend money to companies that are resuming their work.