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STORY: More Shanghai residents were given the freedom to go out to shop for groceries for the first time in nearly two months on Thursday (19 May) as authorities set out additional plans for exiting the city-wide COVID-19 lockdown.

The commercial hub recorded no new infections outside quarantined areas for a fifth day in a row, further cementing its "zero COVID" status with each day.

Some housing compounds in the Changning district distributed passes on Thursday for residents to enter the Carrefour store.

The passes allowed one person from each household to go to the shop for 40 minutes and spend up to $74.

Zhong Renqiu stocked up on eggs, goji berries, black sesame and oats at the just-reopened Carrefour supermarket in the central Changning district:

"Yes, it's my first day going to the supermarket. We've mainly relied on government provisions and things obtained through group-buying."

"It's good and I'm in a very happy mood. The lifting of the lockdown is starting. It's good news for us."

But officials are wary of the danger of new flare-ups of infection in their effort to gradually re-open and are planning to keep most residents largely indoors this month, prioritizing work and production over other activities.

Elsewhere in China, the capital Beijing has not imposed a city-wide shutdown but has gradually tightened restrictions over the past month to contain a small but persistent outbreak of a few dozen new infections a day.

Community workers in full PPE were seen delivering supplies across long fences outside the restricted residential communities.

Many shops and businesses have put up signs informing people, like this local resident, of temporary closures due to COVID restrictions.

"I don't know how to buy vegetables online. They said it will get delivered to my home, but I don't know how to do it. The only way for me is to go to the supermarket on foot. Now I don't have anything to eat. They said I can contact the community workers, but would they care about me? I think they'll care only if I'm positive and get locked up. It's very inconvenient. I really hope the pandemic will end soon. When I see the roads, I feel very sad. There's even no buses and subways."

China has chosen a radically different path from much of the world, ruthlessly restricting movement and isolating people to end any outbreak, no matter the economic cost.