Employees wear masks and keep their distance from other employees at Hefei NavInfo Company. [Photo/ahwang.cn]

Anhui's largest incubator of high-tech start-ups resumed operations in the Hefei National High-tech Industrial Development Zone on Feb 24.

All of the more than 1,100 sci-tech service enterprises with over 20,000 employees located in the incubator have resumed work, according to Tian Baoliang, manager of the incubator.

Precautions have been taken to protect employees from being infected with the novel coronavirus.

Employees are asked to scan a code to check in at every entrance to the incubator, and all visitors must register their information.

"With the help of the incubator, we have managed to prepare enough protective products, such as masks and rubbing alcohol, and have disinfected every area of our company," said Zhang Yi, vice general manager of Hefei NavInfo Company.

Employees with temperatures exceeding 37.3 C will be forbidden from entering, and a quarantine area has been set up for emergency purposes, Zhang said.

The company has set up an emergency quarantine area. [Photo/ahwang.cn]

Tian said that some companies asked employees to work at different times in order to avoid crowds. Many companies are also having their employees work from home. 

The incubator has rolled out a series of measures to help alleviate pressure on companies and ensure they are able to operate normally.

For example, it has waived rents for February and March and slashed rents for April and May by half for small and medium–sized enterprises.

In addition, shuttle buses have been available in the incubator since Feb 20, and take-out dining services have been available since Feb 24.

"Online services have also been improved," Tian said, "for example, applications for rent reductions and grants for young entrepreneurs can now be handled more quickly."

Employees must have their temperatures checked before entering the workplace. [Photo/ahwang.cn]