today was the first official day back at work for many enterprises in shanghai that were earlier deemed non-essential and remained closed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
while staff numbers were still limited in many buildings and those who can work from home are still being advised to do so, some ventured out of their homes and onto the city's streets to head into the office, adding a dash of much-needed life to what has been a quiet fortnight.
i was one of the small crowd, but instead of heading into my own office — we're still largely working from home this week — i went to check out some of the measures being taken to keep workers safe in two shanghai office complexes.
jing'an district's hkri centre, two office towers which normally see 15,000 white collar workers clocking on each day, has taken a number of steps to ensure staff there are looked after.
elevators are limited to a maximum of six passengers at a time, the lobby is sterilized every 15 minutes by an army of extra staff, and robots clean and patrol outside, specifically trained to help in the fight again novel coronavirus.
heading back to work will definitely be a slightly slower process than before the new year break, but i'm sure no one will complain.
check out andy's latest vlog above.
