Logistics centers to ensure adequate supplies of goods
Community staff deliver life supplies to citizens at a local community.
Shanghai will open "as many as possible" markets or logistic centers to ensure food and daily supplies to citizens during the lockdown, the head of the city's commerce commission said on Saturday.
Another nine downtown warehouses of e-commerce platforms and 17 supermarkets have restored operations as of Friday, said Gu Jun, director of the commission.
"All retail markets, delivery centers, logistic centers, e-commerce warehouses and central kitchens on the city's 'white list' should be opened to make the city's commercial life essential system start operating," Gu told the city's daily COVID-19 press briefing.
"The life essential guarantee for Shanghai's 25 million citizens is the foundation and key to victory in the COVID-19 fight."
The city government has announced that the lockdown will be lifted for a group of markets and warehouses in the city in order to ensure life supplies for residents.
A "white list" of local wholesale markets, delivery centers, e-commerce warehouses and central kitchens that strictly implement COVID-19 prevention measures will open.
Fresh food stores, supermarkets, drugstores and e-commerce warehouses near local locked-down and controlled areas will conduct close-door operations to receive online orders and make deliveries, Gu said.
Within the precautionary areas, or communities, companies or sites without new positive cases, some stores will open with reservations, volume limits and prevention measures required, he added.
A logistic truck with food supplies from the Bright group arrives at a local community.
To address the "last kilometer" delivery issue, which Gu said remains the key bottleneck for citizens, all delivery and daily supply staff should leave their locked communities and return to work, if there were no positive cases in their communities.
Another 1,096 such delivery and daily supply personnel returned to their posts on Friday, while another 2,000 related staff have been assigned to assist Shanghai from other provinces, according to Gu.
Key logistic firms such as EMS and SF Express have cooperated with the life essential companies to delivery online orders for citizens, he added.
Community workers, property management personnel and volunteers will take charge of the last 100 meters delivery for residents. Subdistricts, towns and communities must provide protection gears for the staff.
Special groups including seniors living alone, maternal women and infants remain the top priority whose daily supply will be guaranteed, Gu said.
Two local state-owned enterprises Bright and Bailian groups have been asked to ensure daily supplies for the special groups in Puxi and Pudong.
Shanghai has located several vegetable and pork production centers outside Shanghai, which can deliver food supplies to the city if there is a need, Gu said.
Three daily supply distribution centers in Kunshan in neighboring Jiangsu Province, Pinghu in neighboring Zhejiang and Shanghai's Xijiao, or western suburb area, have started operating. Life supplies are also being delivered to Shanghai through combined railway-expressway transports.
A food gift pack from local government.
