According to city officials, Shanghai will shut down a 2.7 million-person zone on Saturday to perform widespread coronavirus testing as the Chinese metropolis battles to fully emerge from draconian restrictions.

Since March, most of the city's 25 million citizens have been confined to their homes as China battles its biggest Covid outbreak in two years.

However, the lockdown was never lifted, as hundreds of thousands of people in China's largest city remained confined to their homes, and other residential complexes received new stay-at-home orders.

On Saturday morning, the 2.7 million-person southern district of Minhang will be placed under "closed management," and all residents will be examined, district authorities announced in a social media post on Thursday.

Without providing a specific time or date, they continued, "The closure will be lifted after samples have been collected,"

In addition, the statement did not specify what actions would be taken if any district residents tested positive.

Under China's draconian zero-Covid strategy, all positive patients are separated, and close contacts are quarantined, frequently involving the entire building or town.

On Thursday, Shanghai reported nine new local infections, but none in Minhang.

Some social media users were alarmed by the district's warning that the lockdown could be extended beyond Saturday if other instances were discovered.

"You need to clarify if (the lockdown) will really be lifted after samples are collected," one Weibo user remarked.

"What will you do if the findings of the testing are abnormal? Carry on with the lockdown? "requested another.

The lockout in Shanghai, a major global shipping center, threatened to strain worldwide supply networks that were already under stress severely.

However, the city has gradually returned to life in recent days.

Residents have gathered in parks and along the city's historic waterfront as commuting via subways and buses resume, and workers return to their offices.

Others, though, are irritated by the persistent restrictions, with inhabitants of one property in the Xuhui area of central Beijing demonstrating against the limits this week.

Beijing, the capital of China, is returning to normalcy more smoothly after closing restaurants, gyms, and metro stations last month to contain a minor outbreak.