The locked-down Chinese metropolis of Shanghai will reopen four of its 20 subway lines Sunday as it slowly eases pandemic restrictions that have kept most residents in their housing complexes for more than six weeks. The city will also restart 273 bus lines connecting major urban centers, airports, train stations and hospitals as it resumes cross-district public transit, Yu Fulin, director of the Shanghai Transport Commission, said at a daily pandemic briefing Thursday. Also read:Shanghai re-tightens on COVID, frustrating trapped residents It wasn't immediately clear how frequent the service would be. Bus service resumed on a trial basis within three outlying districts this week, with buses running every 30 to 90 minutes during daylight hours. The lockdown of China's largest city has dealt a blow to the economy and frustrated residents, particularly as many countries elsewhere in the world move away from such harsh measures as they try to live with the virus. But officials have stuck to a ‘zero-COVID’ approach, saying that lifting restrictions could strain the public health system and lead to more deaths, particularly among the not fully vaccinated elderly. The outbreak in Shanghai has taken 580 lives, according to official statistics, making it the deadliest one since the initial outbreak in the city of Wuhan in early 2020. Even as the number of new cases plummets, authorities 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. The city of 25 million people recorded about 700 new cases on Wednesday, accounting for most of the about 1,000 cases nationwide. Also read: New tests to decide Shanghai reopening as Beijing stocks up Authorities in Beijing, which reported 55 new cases, closed some subway stations and bus lines, banned dining in restaurants and strongly encouraged residents to work from home as they try to prevent a Shanghai-scale outbreak in the Chinese capital. Elsewhere in China, the city of Guang'an in in China's southwestern Sichuan province was locked down on Wednesday. The province recorded about 150 new cases.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday stressed the need for building subways to free Dhaka from traffic congestion. The government has taken up a project to construct subways in Dhaka city and a draft of the project titled ‘Feasibility study for the construction of the subway in Dhaka city' has been prepared, he said. Read:Dhaka commuters endure awful traffic jam for 2nd day Obaidul said this at a seminar held to elicit opinion on the project at a hotel in the city. Drawing the attention of the two Dhaka city mayors who were present at the seminar, the minister said “Dhaka is a city of pollution and to make Dhaka a livable city new plans are needed.” Talking about the planned subways, TYPSA, an advisory firm of Spain proposed 11 route alignments for the 238-km long Dhaka Subway network. Of the total the government has a plan to construct 105-km long four routes by 2030, Obaidul said. Four routes are--- - 34.92km route stretching from Jhilmil via Tongi Junction route with 24 stations. The approximate expenditure of each km route is estimated at Tk 2,388 crore. - 22.89km route stretching from Gabtoli via Bholabo union with 14 stations. The expenditure cost of each km is estimated at Tk 2,158 crore. - 25.22 km from Keraniganj via Sonapur union with 15 stations. The total expenditure cost of each km is estimated at Tk 2,217 crore. - 45.11 km long route from Jahangirnagar University to Narayanganj route with 32 stations. Possible expenditure per km is estimated at Tk 2,312 crore. There will be no barriers in the land acquisition process as the subways will be constructed 25-70 meter deep under the earth, he said adding “Half of the residents of Dhaka city can move through the subways while the top of the ground would be free from traffic jams.” Meanwhile, a deal was signed between China Shandong International Economic &Technical Cooperation Group Ltd (CSI) and Bangladesh Bridge Authority for constructing a 6.5 km two-story expressway from Panchabati of Narayanganj to Muktarpur Bridge of Munshiganj district. Read: Dhaka dwellers suffer amid unusual traffic gridlock Secretary of Bridge Division Manjur Hossain was present there. Project Director of road expansion and two-story expressway from Panchabati of Narayanganj to Muktarpur Bridge of Munshiganj district, Shafiqul Islam and Lyu Jin, a representative of the contractor firm signed the agreement, involving Tk 1200 crore on behalf of their respective field.