An employee works at an iron and steel plant in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, on Monday. [Photo/Xinhua]

Authorities in Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, are stepping up efforts to help businesses resume production after the prolonged shutdown for the Lunar New Year holiday due to novel coronavirus outbreak, including measures to prevent workplace infections.

The city has rolled out several measures like financial support for companies, especially those related to necessary supplies, online channels for administrative services, encouraging companies to use online platforms for sales, and smoothing logistics operations for companies in need.

The efforts are part of the steps enacted by several Chinese provinces and cities to help companies restart production after prolonged shutdowns due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier this month, East China's Shandong province released a plan to resume full production by the end of this month, with priority being accorded to infrastructure and necessary services like hospitals, energy supply, and logistics. Provinces like Shanxi have also launched supportive policies for businesses to restart operations, such as encouraging flexible remote work arrangements.

On Feb 5, the Ministry of Commerce and related departments announced measures to ensure virus prevention equipment and hygiene guarantees at workplaces along with the necessary steps to prevent workplace infections, particularly at places like supermarkets.

"Both the central and local governments have released detailed plans for the resumption of production and preventing infections at workplaces. This will help various industries to recover from economic losses due to the epidemic," said Zhou Minliang, a senior researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"The measures include rent cuts or waivers, lower interest on bank loans, smoother logistics, and other steps. But further efforts should be made by the local governments on supportive measures for the more specialized industries and companies," Zhou said.