Areas in Shanghai ready to embrace post-lockdown life

Separately, Beijing reported 18 new locally transmitted cases as of 3 pm on Monday, bringing the total number of infections to 1,752 since April 22, said Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

China's capital still faces risks of infection as one new locally transmitted case was reported at the community level on Monday. Aside from that one case in a Fengtai district community, all of the remaining 17 cases were reported in quarantined locations.

The city had not reported new local cases at the community level for three consecutive days before Monday. The new case showed the risk of infection still exists, Xu Hejian, spokesman for the Beijing government, said at a news conference on Monday.

Fast action urged

"We should ensure both economic operation and epidemic control and prevention work," he said. "The authority should take faster action and stricter measures to prevent the virus from spreading."

Of the 1,752 cases since April 22, Chaoyang district reported 424, the most in the outbreak. Due to swift and strict measures, Chaoyang has not reported any community-level cases in the past seven days.

Except for people in locked-down and controlled zones, Chaoyang residents can return to workplaces and major shopping malls can gradually resume operations, said Yang Beibei, deputy head of the district, on Monday.

As of Monday, Beijing had four COVID-19 high-risk areas and 14 medium-risk areas.