Shanghai confirmed more than 23,000 new infections on Thursday. Most of those affected were asymptomatic.
It was the first day-on-day drop since Monday, though the case count remains high.

Locked down residents of China's major port city vented anger at local authorities for forcing them to give up their homes for quarantine facilities.

Video footage of residents of one compound clashing with police went viral on Thursday.

The owner of the compound said it offered tenants compensation to move. It claimed the dispute was resolved.

Many have taken to social media to criticize the authorities. Some complained the government's response defied belief or lacked common sense.

Meanwhile, South Korea has decided to significantly ease coronavirus restrictions from next week, citing fewer new infections.

Case numbers surged early this year, with daily counts occasionally topping 600,000.

Nearly 126,000 new cases were confirmed on Thursday.
That's about a third of the figure a month ago.

In Japan, officials confirmed nearly 49,800 new cases on Friday. The number was more than 2,000 lower than a week ago.

Japanese immigration authorities say more than 48,000 foreigners entered the country last month, marking a more than nine-fold increase from February.

Japan eased its border controls on March 1. No tourists are allowed in, but businesspeople, students and some others may once again apply for entry. Tight restrictions on entry were introduced last November in response to the Omicron variant.