Workers in Beijing Return to the Office, But Not Without Masks

In Beijing, office workers are finally allowed to be back in their cubicles on Monday as there have been no new COVID-19 cases reported in recent days.

As the Lunar New Year holiday was extended by authorities, most workers in the city were ordered to stay home to “help curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 110,000 people worldwide, most of them in China,” as reported by Fox Business.

According to 29-year-old Zhuang Xue, she had been preparing for this moment for weeks. She had been “exercising at home and trying to eat as healthily as possible to strengthen her immune system. She was carrying disinfectant wipes and a personal water bottle,” said Fox Business. “Everyone is pretty conscientious,” Zhang said.

Mask-clad Chinese workers cautiously return to the office https://t.co/ucGcMZc9OE via @WashTimes pic.twitter.com/SHdsn4qgSc

— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) March 9, 2020

Despite having workers back in their offices, Beijing has some restrictions. Fox Business reported that “Beijing's city government is requiring that the number of people in each office be limited to no more than 50% of usual staffing levels. Protective face masks are required, and office workers must be seated at least 1 meter (3.3 feet) apart. Workers are not supposed to face each other when eating.”

Chinese factories that make smartphones, toys, and consumer goods are slowly reopening but are not expected to reach normal production until at least April. As for transportation, travel curbs are still in place in many areas – thus “disrupting imports of components and raw materials from China's Asian neighbors as well as shipments from China.”

Fox Business reported that “on Saturday, the government reported that exports fell 17% and imports were off 4% from a year earlier in January and February.”