Workers remain productive on home front

Employees adjusting to life away from office

Deserted roads, near-empty subway cars and offices without workers are normally the last scenes you would expect to see in Beijing, especially after the weeklong Spring Festival holiday.

However, amid the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, people have been encouraged to stay indoors and many companies have asked their employees to work from home to reduce the risk of being infected.

Liu Xinzi, 30, a Beijing resident, planned to vacation in Japan during Spring Festival, but canceled her trip and stayed at home in the capital with her parents.

"Usually, I return to Beijing a day before the holiday ends. After doing some cleaning and resting at home for a day, I go back to the office to work," she said.

Liu works for an artistic performance agency, which like many other companies, was due to resume operations on Feb 1 after Spring Festival.

"On Jan 30, I received an email from the company, telling us to extend our holiday for two more days," she said. She was then told to work from home until Monday, when she returned to the office.