(Yicai Global) Dec. 14 -- Shopping mall visitor numbers fell in Shanghai on the first day after the requirement to show health codes to enter indoor public spaces was ended.

Yesterday’s customer flow was lower than last week, the manager of a small shopping center in Putuo district told Yicai Global, adding that food courts in several nearby malls also had far fewer diners. All of the shopping center’s restaurants, stores, and movie theaters are open, though the cinema is not yet allowed to sell food, he said.

Shanghai began easing Covid-19 controls on Dec. 8, and since yesterday no longer requires people going to public venues to scan and show their health QR codes. But with Covid-19 case numbers rising, residents are wary of eating out and visiting crowded places.

LaLaport Shonan Hiratsuka, the first shopping mall opened by Mitsui Fudosan Retail Management outside of Japan, also had fewer customers yesterday than in previous days, but the number of visitors was still 29 percent higher than a week earlier, its manager told Yicai Global.

Tintin’s first store, which set a four-year sales record last month, also had a smaller customer flow yesterday. Everyone is avoiding going out unless necessary, said Wang Yue, China representative of Tintinimaginatio, the copyright owner of The Adventures of Tintin, a famous comic book series. But several fans still came to shop yesterday, Wang added, noting that sales remained high.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione