NEARLY 300 million people have gone back to work in China since the Lunar New Year break as more companies restart business and coronavirus travel restrictions ease.

Eighteen regions in China have cut the emergency response level as of Monday, and authorities eased travel restrictions amid a sharp drop in new coronavirus infection cases.

China transportation ministry data showed an average of 15.8 million passengers returned from their hometowns per day last week, the third week after the prolonged Lunar New Year break.

That brings the total to 295 million people so far tracked by the ministry as having returned to their workplaces since the holiday, according to calculations based on transportation ministry data.

Increasing traffic flows in big cities also indicate more commuting across the country.

Location technology firm TOMTOM’s traffic index shows congestion levels picked up noticeably in most major cities Monday to their highest levels since the virus outbreak.

Average daily passenger volumes at metros across the country reached 10.2 million last week, up 65.15 percent from a week earlier, according to data compiled by China Association of Metros.

China’s top officials have urged local authorities to do everything they can to help companies resume production, including extending cheap loans and simplifying paperwork.

According to authorities, at least 11 regions in China have seen resumption rates at companies with annual revenue above 200 million yuan (US$28.73 million) exceed 90 percent.

But the matrix doesn’t specify the utilization rates at the firms and excludes small-sized firms.

A “nightlight” index launched by China Merchants Bank, based on light intensity at a sample of 143 industrial parks across the country at night, shows that work resumption levels remain below 55 percent as of Feb. 28, compared with a peak of more than 80 percent in late last year.

Ping An Bank estimated that average capacity resumption at its 600 small and micro-businesses clients was 59 percent as of Feb. 24, up from 30 percent in the prior week.

A survey of 577 firms in China by the European Union Chamber of Commerce and the German Chamber of Commerce found almost half reporting staff shortages and almost a third struggling with compliance requirements. (SD-Agencies)