Some Shanghai residents still unable to move freely

Even as China's most populous city partially reopened its public transportation, millions of residents in Shanghai remained confined to their properties in a coronavirus lockdown that has lasted over six weeks. On Monday, Shanghai officials reported that 480,000 people were still not allowed to leave their homes while 21.2 million residents remained under lighter restrictions in their residential compounds.

Of the city's population of around 25 million, only 1.59 million were permitted to move around their neighbourhoods. Many are restricted to one hour of shopping time, entrusted with bringing home supplies for their entire building. For those who remain confined to their homes or compounds, couriers and delivery workers remain the lifeline for food deliveries from supermarkets.

Authorities in the city are relaxing restrictions in a slow and deliberate manner as they try to ensure that the virus no longer spreads anywhere outside of quarantine facilities and areas with known infections. In total, China reported 802 new cases on Monday, marking a steady decline interrupted only by small-scale localised outbreaks.