Since the world’s second largest economy drastically eased its Covid restrictions earlier this month, there has been no clear data on the extent of the virus’ spread on the national level. But several cities and provinces have said they were seeing tens of thousands of new cases per day, reports CNN.

The surge in cases has forced people to remain indoors.

The shops and restaurants have remained emptied over the past few days.

Factories and companies are also forced to shut down or cut production because of more workers getting sick, reports CNN.

“The number of people on the streets has dropped off sharply from already subdued levels across the country,” analysts were quoted as saying by CNN from Capital Economics in a research note last week. “That will be affecting demand.”