Four Metro and 273 bus lines in Shanghai will restart operations on Sunday to connect downtown districts, airports, railway stations and hospitals, the city government announced yesterday.

Lines 3, 6, 10 and 16 will be the first of the city’s Metro network to resume service, Vice Mayor Zhang Wei said.

A negative result of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test made within 48 hours is required to take the buses, subways and other public transport. Passengers also must scan the venue code, produce their green health codes and take temperature checks, as well as wear facial masks.

Among the restored services, eight bus lines will connect with the city’s Pudong and Hongqiao airports, 19 will link Shanghai Railway Station and Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, 212 will reach city- and district-level hospitals, and the others are near the stations of the four Metro lines.

“It might be less than what residents have expected but it is just the beginning of the gradual resumption of public transportation,” Zhang said.

“Please be patient. Shanghai will optimize the transport arrangements in a timely manner based on the pandemic situation,” he pointed out.

The number of arriving and departing trains is also increasing at Hongqiao and Shanghai railway stations.

The requirements for people to leave Shanghai remain the same to strictly prevent the virus from spreading outside the city, Zhang noted.

Travelers must have a negative PCR report made within 48 hours plus an antigen test report made within 24 hours, or a negative PCR report made within 24 hours.

The arrangements for private cars and taxis are still under consideration.

The city’s public and intercity transport services will be fully restored when this wave of pandemic is thoroughly stabilized, Zhang said.

The number of local infections fell to 719 on Wednesday, without community transmission for a fifth day in a row.

The city government has announced its three-stage plan to bring life and business back to normal in Shanghai from June 1 to mid-to-late June.

Pressure tests on public transport have been launched on the city’s outlying districts such as Jinshan, Fengxian and Chongming, where buses and taxis have been permitted on the roads this week, he said.

In some downtown areas, an e-pass is required for vehicles to hit the road, while taxis can be booked for emergency needs, including going to hospital.

Drivers and other employees of the Metro and bus operators have returned to work to do maintenance, adjustments, malfunction screening and disinfection to prepare for the resumption of operations, according to Yu Fulin, director of the Shanghai Transport Commission.

Overhauls and maintenance have been completed on bus terminuses, buses, Metro stations, subway trains, electricity links, signals, tracks and platform doorways.

Disinfection has been done on the air conditioning of buses, along with safety inspections on the Metro’s fire prevention and evacuation facilities. Venue codes have been set up on more than 18,000 buses.

Since May 5, Metro trains have been test-operating across the network to verify equipment and prepare for reopening. All bus and Metro staff have received safety training.

After operations resume, all bus drivers and Metro staff in direct contact with passengers must receive two antigen tests in the morning and a PCR test in the afternoon every day. Other staff must receive two antigen tests a day and one antigen plus one PCR test the next day.

The Metro stations, seats, bus terminuses, ticket machines and other facilities will be disinfected every four hours. The buses will be fully ventilated at the end of each day’s operation.

Meanwhile, individual courier services are expected to be fully restored in early June as more delivery companies and distribution centers resume operations, the Shanghai Postal Administration said.

EMS has initially restored delivery services of key documents, invoices and other important items for government bodies and clients. More than 1.1 million such items have been delivered.

The city’s delivery capacity has been restored to 20 percent of the normal level and will be further restored to 70 percent by mid-June, according to Feng Lihu, director of the administration.

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