Shanghai allows 4 million out of homes as virus rules ease

In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a temporary COVID-19 testing lab is seen in an arena in Shanghai, China, Friday, April 15, 2022. Anti-virus controls that have shut down some of China’s biggest cities and fueled public irritation are spreading as infections rise, hurting a weak economy and prompting warnings of possible global shockwaves. (Zhang Jiansong/Xinhua via AP)

Four million more people in Shanghai have been allowed to leave their homes as Covid restrictions ease, a health official has said.

A total of almost 12 million people in the city of 25 million are allowed to go outdoors following the first round of easing last week, health official Wu Ganyu said at a news conference, adding the virus was “under effective control” for the first time in some parts of the city.