Eating Solo, Avoiding Rush Hour: China Cautiously Returns to Work

Staff members wearing masks work at a cafe of the French bakery Comptoirs de France in Beijing as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Beijing, China, on Feb. 29, 2020. Thomas Peter/Reuters

SHENZHEN, China/BEIJING—China is making uneven progress in its return to work after more than a month of coronavirus disruption, with many factories running at under half capacity and office workers avoiding their colleagues.

Yang Lu, who works in sales for a security company in the southern city of Shenzhen, said her office of around 300 people is back to work, but she tries to stay away from people.