Shanghai on Wednesday lifted its city-wide lockdown, however, the trauma of the lockdown of the past two months lives on.
The process of reopening is likely to be slow and painful, as residents in the financial hub still cannot forget the painful memory of lockdown, reported CNN.
China's draconian lockdown measures, including the strictly implemented zero-COVID strategy, increasingly mobilized people against the government, with experts suggesting that the recent excesses might lead to a more permanent alienation of the masses.
For Henry Shi, a 30-year-old photographer who ventured out of his community on Tuesday afternoon, the first thing that struck him was the ambient noise of the city.
"The city has gone really quiet as everyone stayed home. Now, the noises are back, from cars roaring on the streets and people bustling about -- it feels as if I've woken from a long slumber."
As of Wednesday morning, most of the city's 25 million residents are free to leave their communities, shops and office buildings can reopen, cars are back on the streets, and subway and buses are resuming services, reported CNN.
But to some, there is a lingering sense of bitterness, sadness and anger -- having witnessed the suffering and pain inflicted upon the city by the zealous enforcement of the government's zero-Covid policy.
The chaotic lockdown caused widespread food shortages and delayed medical care for emergency patients. Young children were separated from their parents in quarantine, reported CNN.
Residents, including the elderly, were forced into spartan makeshift isolation facilities and forced to hand over their keys to have their homes disinfected. The draconian measures triggered wave after wave of outcry, severely eroding public trust in the Shanghai government.
"A ridiculous drama is over and no one has come forward to explain, no one has apologized to the lives that were insulted, harmed and lost, and no one has been held accountable," a Shanghai resident wrote in a widely shared post on WeChat, a Chinese social media platform.
"The takeout is back, the crayfish is back, the beer is back, but the sense of security is gone," said the post, which was later censored.
The restrictions upended business in virtually every sector and brought the city's economy to a standstill. Many businesses were forced to suspend production temporarily; others have suggested they may not recover, reported CNN.
While the lockdown has been mostly lifted, some COVID restrictions remain a part of daily life. Most public venues and transportation still require a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours, and long lines formed at testing sites outside residential compounds.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor