Banks resume service in Shanghai after lockdown

More banks in downtown Shanghai resumed service over the weekend as the city seeks to accelerate reopening with the city's coronavirus outbreak on the wane. A branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in central Shanghai reopened on Saturday but was limited to serving five customers at a time, Shanghai Media Group (SMG) reported.

People were seen queuing outside the bank in a video broadcast by SMG, while bank staffers were wearing blue protective suits and face shields. About 130 of Shanghai's 4,300 bank branches have reopened, with epidemic prevention measures still in place, SMG said. People entering the bank were asked to present their health code for digital registration.

Shanghai recorded 29 new cases on Monday, continuing a steady decline from more than 20,000 a day in April. Authorities say they will take some major steps Wednesday toward reopening China's largest city after a two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has throttled the national economy and largely bottled up millions of people in their homes.

Full bus and subway service will be restored as will basic rail connections with the rest of China, officials announced on Tuesday. Pudong New Area, on the east side of the Huangpu River, restored all 286 bus lines within the district, and will resume cross-district transport with the rest of the city on Wednesday, according to SMG.

"On June 1, our plan is to open as much as possible, and let all employees return and resume work," said Chen Wei, manager of the department of operation business at Pudong Yanggao Bus Group. The bus lines, connecting major commercial sites, hospitals, and residential compounds, were running at 30-minute or longer intervals due to the small flow of passengers, SMG said. Each bus stop and bus had a venue code, and passengers needed to scan the code to register their visit.