As many of Beijing's 22 million people head back to work Monday, nearly all of them are acting out of abundant caution. The city's busy subway system is again fully staffed, ready to make sure all passengers are taking proper precautions, just as they've been doing since the outbreak. But now the subway may be much busier.  

A CGTN reporter visited Guomao Station in the busy CBD area in the early morning to see what the passenger flow was like. 

Although it is the first workday after the Spring Festival, there are still not many passengers getting into or out of the station at 8:30 am, the peak of rush hour.

Evidently, the epidemic is keeping people away from the subway or other forms of public transportation.

Liu Huibo, head of Guomao Station said that if passengers do not wear masks, they advise them not to take the subway.

"And we take complete disinfection measures inside subway stations and train compartments. Every hour we disinfect key areas such as security checkpoints, ticket vending machines and ticket barriers," he said.

For public spaces, operating systems and toilets are attended to five times a day.

"The ventilation system is working at maximum capacity," Liu stressed.

This station is at the intersection between Line 1 and Line 10, two of the busiest subway routes in Beijing. On a typical weekday before the coronavirus breakout, there would be endless stream of people coming along the transfer tunnels here. But today, there are still not many of them down here.

As the station agents said, the passengers are taking necessary precautions. And they are in good order. Besides wearing masks, they are trying their best to keep distance while waiting on the platform or staying in subway cars. 

"I heard on the subway PA that they disinfect public areas five times a day. That makes me feel better," a passenger said.

"I pay close attention to precautions. And I try not to go into places or areas with many people," another said.

According to Beijing Subway, there were usually about 12 million passenger trips each workday in all together 23 subway lines in the city. Now the figure is obviously much less than that.

Subway officials said that they are trying their best to protect passengers from being infected. They also suggest that all passengers take necessary precautions for themselves and others.