Key points:
- China dropped most of its strict COVID curbs on Wednesday.
- Cities that were already battling severe outbreaks saw a sharp decrease in economic activity.
- Businesses have been forced to close as infected workers quarantine while people try to reduce their exposure.
Ongoing anger over China's COVID-19 policies is giving way to worries about coping with infections after an expert warned many thousands of new coronavirus cases have occurred.
China dropped most of its strict COVID curbs on Wednesday after unprecedented protests against them last month.
But cities that were already battling their most severe outbreaks, including Beijing, saw a sharp decrease in economic activity with residents slow to emerge.
Anecdotal evidence suggests many businesses have been forced to close as infected workers quarantine at home while many other people are deciding not to go out because of the higher risk of infection.
Zhong Nanshan, a prominent Chinese epidemiologist, told state media that the Omicron strain of the virus prevalent in China was highly transmissible and one infected person could spread it to as many as 18 others.
"We can see that hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands of people are infected in several major cities," Mr Zhong said.
Usually busy malls have been quieter than usual in parts of China in recent days. Source: AAP / Costfoto/Sipa USA
Health authorities reported 1,661 new infections in Beijing on Saturday, down 42 per cent from 3,974 on 6 December, a day before national policies were dramatically relaxed.
But evidence suggests there are many more cases in the city of nearly 22 million people where everyone seems to know someone who has caught COVID.
"In my company, the number of people who are COVID-negative is close to zero," said a woman who works for a tourism and events firm in Beijing and who asked to be identified as Nancy.
"We realise this can't be avoided — everyone will just have to work from home."
Sunday is a normal business day for shops in Beijing and it is usually bustling, particularly in spots like the historic Shichahai neighbourhood, which is packed with boutiques and cafes.
But few people were out and about on Sunday and malls in Chaoyang, Beijing's most populous district, were practically deserted with many salons, restaurants and retailers shut.
Economists widely expect China's road to economic health to be uneven as shocks such as labour crunches due to workers calling in sick delay a full-fledged recovery for some time yet.
"The transition out of zero-COVID will eventually allow consumer spending patterns to return to normal, but a higher risk of infection will keep in-person spending depressed for months after re-opening," Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.
China experienced unprecedented protests in the face of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. Source: AAP / Costfoto/Sipa USA
Epidemiologist Mr Zhong also said it would be some months before a return to normal.
"My opinion is in the first half of next year, after March," he said.
While China has removed most of its domestic COVID curbs, its international borders are still largely closed to foreigners, including tourists.
Inbound travellers are subjected to five days of quarantine at centralised government facilities and three additional days of self-monitoring at home.
But there are hints those rules could change.
Asked if quarantine rules were being eased, staff at the main international airport in Chengdu city said that as of Saturday the requirement to do three days of home quarantine would depend on a person's neighbourhood authorities.
