Changchun, Jilin cities begin to open back up after outbreak

Businesses, public transportation restarting

After taking nearly two months of online courses, Liu Bojun is excited about returning to in-person classes after the May Day holiday.

All senior students in high schools and secondary vocational schools in Jilin province will be allowed to return to campus on May 5, according to a statement released by the provincial education department on Thursday.

For the other students, the local city and regional governments in the province will make arrangements depending on the different situations of epidemic prevention and control, the statement said.

"I have studied remotely since the latest outbreak of COVID-19 in early March," said the 18-year-old senior student from the High School Attached to Northeast Normal University, in Changchun, Jilin province. "I am so eager to see my classmates and teachers and spend my last month of high school together with them."

Based on the current COVID-19 epidemic situation, Changchun and the city of Jilin have gradually lifted lockdowns and restored residents' lives to normal starting on Thursday, Li Zhuang, deputy director of the provincial publicity department, said at a news conference.

In Changchun, different measures will be carried out in regions under different levels of prevention and control, according to Ma Yanfeng, the city's vice-mayor.

All households in precautionary zones can assign a representative to go out daily to purchase necessities. Residents in lockdown and controlled zones will continue current management measures, he said.

Service-related businesses connected to residents' daily lives in precautionary zones, such as convenience stores, barbershops, laundries and vehicle repair shops will resume under COVID-19 prevention and control requirements.

Such businesses should require customer appointments and limit visitors to prevent overcrowding.

A total of 175 major bus lines and 1,000 taxis will resume services in the city, and the number of taxis will be increased as the epidemic situation changes.

Mass nucleic acid testing will be conducted among residents in urban areas and Jiutai district every three days.

To provide more convenience to residents, the government plans to set up 1,000 nucleic acid sample collecting sites in public areas, such as railway stations, universities, shopping malls and residential communities, said Zhang Xingguo, director of Changchun Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sun Xuping, the owner of a barbershop in Lyuyuan district, opened his shop at 7 am and had received around 30 customers by noon.

"Located in a precautionary zone, my shop is allowed to resume after applying to the community," he said. "My customers began to make appointments with me yesterday and some bookings have to wait several days.

"Under COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control requirements, customers have to wait outside before they have their haircut," he said. "I am also put under closed-loop management so that I need to stay in the shop after it closes instead of going home.

"However, I'm happy when my customers are relaxed and comfortable after I give them a nice trim," he added. "I believe we can achieve the final victory in the fight against the virus in the near future."

After three areas in the city of Jilin were adjusted from medium-risk for COVID-19 to low-risk on Thursday, all parts of the city were classified as low risk, according to the city's leading group on COVID-19 prevention and control.

Of the 56 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases that Jilin province reported on Wednesday, 52 were found in Changchun, two in Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture and one each in the cities of Jilin and Baicheng.

Of the 98 newly reported asymptomatic carriers, 89 were identified in Changchun, seven in the city of Jilin and one each in Yanbian and Baicheng.