Shanghai has relaxed its COVID-19 lockdown measures for parts of the city in an apparent bid to address growing public discontent over the tough restrictions.

Authorities on Monday eased the stringent measures they put in place across much of the Chinese city in response to a surge in new coronavirus cases.

The move allows residents in areas with no new cases in the last 14 days to go out, although they are restricted as to how far they can travel.

Officials said that about 40 percent of some 17,000 areas in the city, or more than 7,500, saw their restrictions relaxed on Monday. Local media reported on residents in those areas who were allowed to go shopping for food and other daily necessities.

The easing is seen as an attempt by the authorities to address the public discontent with the harsh measures, which have been kept in place in line with Beijing's zero-COVID policy.

The spread of the virus, however, has shown no sign of slowing. On Sunday, new daily infections in Shanghai hit a record high for the 10th straight day, at 26,087, many of which were asymptomatic cases.

Even in the parts of Shanghai where restrictions have been eased, any single confirmed case of infection would force the area to revert to lockdown measures for 14 days.