SHANGHAI (Reuters) - As many as 12.38 million Shanghai residents, nearly half the total population, are now in lower-risk areas, meaning they can leave their homes, the government said on Friday.

       By April 28, the number of people unable to leave home has been reduced by 6.6 million, said Zhao Dandan, deputy director of Shanghai's health commission.

       Shanghai classifies each housing unit according to three levels of risk, designating those that have not seen a COVID-19 positive case for 14 days as "prevention zones", allowing residents to go out for "appropriate" activities.

       (Reporting by David Stanway and Wang Yifan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)