SHANGHAI: Shanghai further eased its grueling, weeks-long Covid-19 lockdown on Wednesday despite a rising official death toll and tens of thousands of daily cases.

Chinas largest city is ambling toward reopening as businesses and residents grow increasingly desperate over closures and food shortages.

Faced with the countrys worst coronavirus outbreak in two years, Shanghai has confined most of its 25 million people to their homes since last month, doubling down on the ruling Communist Partys unrelenting zero-Covid approach.

But the surge, driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, has thwarted official efforts to avert a pandemic rebound, with more than 400,000 infections reported since March.

City authorities confirmed seven Covid-19 deaths and more than 18,000 mostly asymptomatic new cases on Wednesday, while also announcing that 4 million more people had been released from the strictest version of the lockdown.

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Some factories have resumed operations and 12 million residents previously barred from leaving their homes have, in the past few days, been given permission to venture outdoors.

Many are, however, still restricted to their residential compounds under an easing of the rules announced last Monday.

While Shanghais outbreak remains small compared with parts of the world getting used to living with the virus, it has rattled Chinas inflexible virus response and prompted rare glimpses of discontent usually wiped away by the Great Firewall of censorship.

On social media, Shanghai residents have vented about the tight movement restrictions, multiple rounds of mass testing, and lack of access to food and non-Covid medical care.

Beijing insists its stern Covid approach has averted fatalities and the public health crises seen in many other parts of the world.

Shanghai has confirmed just 17 official fatalities in its current outbreak, though some have questioned that tally, pointing to the low vaccination rate among Chinas vast elderly population.

The seven deaths reported on Wednesday were, like all those previously confirmed, among patients with underlying conditions, such as lung cancer and diabetes. City officials said five of the seven people were more than 70 years old.

The shuttering of economic engine room Shanghai and lockdowns elsewhere have taken a heavy toll on the worlds second-biggest economy, clogging supply chains and forcing businesses to halt production.

Hoping to rebuild some steam, authorities have called for a white list of key industries and companies that can continue production, with more than 600 firms identified for early work resumption in Shanghai.

United States electric car giant Tesla officially resumed production on Tuesday, state media reported, after suspending work at its gigafactory in the city for more than 20 days.

Businesses in other Chinese regions affected by lockdowns in recent weeks have also gradually resumed operations amid production and logistics backlogs, including northeastern Jilin province, which announced on Tuesday that its top 500 companies were back at work.