Shanghai's next Covid prevention and control will be divided into three phases, with the goal of a full return to normal life and company production order in June.

(Tesla China video screenshot)

Shanghai, still in lockdown, has given a timeline for the city's return to normalcy from Covid, as new cases drop to less than 1,000 per day.

Shanghai's next Covid control will be divided into three phases, with the goal of restoring full normalcy to life and corporate production between June 1 and mid- to late June, local officials said at a briefing today.

The first phase, from now until May 21, will focus on keeping new Covid cases down and social activity in the city continuing at a low level.

The second phase, from May 22 to May 31, has the city aiming to get the number of new infections on a single day to decrease further and to narrow the lockdown areas until they are all lifted.

The third phase is from June 1 to mid-to-late June, when the city will implement regular management of the Covid prevention and control, and fully restore normal production and living conditions in the city.

Starting May 16, cruising cabs and private cars will be allowed to drive in some areas where the social side of Covid cases have been cleared, and ground buses and subways will be in a position to gradually resume operations from May 22.

China saw 140 new confirmed cases of Covid and 1,019 asymptomatic infections on Sunday, including 69 new confirmed cases and 869 asymptomatic infections in Shanghai, according to data released earlier today by health authorities.

As the Covid situation improves, Shanghai's automotive chain is starting to see more companies return to work. The city entered a phased lockdown on March 28.

The Jiading auto industry cluster in northwest Shanghai has now seen 126 companies officially return to work and production, including SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC Group, Nio, Pony.ai, and ZF Group, according to a report in local media outlet The Paper today.

The report did not mention how many employees from Nio, Pony.ai and other companies have returned to work.