While entry and exit from Wuhan remains tightly restricted, businesses such as supermarkets, convenience stores and shops selling fresh fruit, vegetables and other daily necessities can re-open.

Only one person per household bearing a special pass can go out each day, with shopping time limited to two hours.

Wuhan, the virus outbreak's epicenter, reported no new or suspected cases for a third straight day.

Meanwhile, Premier Li Keqiang on Friday urged "efforts to stabilize and support market entities to strengthen the engines for economic recovery," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Li "stressed a stronger sense of urgency on the work and production resumption, as well as the recovery of economic and social order," including financial assistance to small and medium-size enterprises that form a core source of employment and key links in supply chains.

"Unreasonable restrictions that hinder the resumption of work" should be lifted, Li said. "With effective prevention and control measures, necessary health monitoring and emergency response forces in place, epidemic prevention and work resumption can be advanced in a synchronized way."

Among measures to help people find new jobs, the central government has launched a website that it hopes will help fill 10 million vacancies by the end of June.

The virus outbreak's epicenter of Wuhan reported no new or suspected cases again for a third consecutive day.

Overall, China on Saturday reported 41 new cases detected over the previous 24 hours, all among people traveling from overseas, and another seven deaths, six in Wuhan. China now has a total of 81,008 cases and 3,255 deaths.

A total of 71,740 people have been declared cured and released from hospital. Wuhan must go 14 straight days without a new case in order for draconian travel restrictions to be lifted.

People are now better able to move around in the surrounding province of Hubei, although its provincial borders remain closed to the rest of the country.

Beijing and other cities are increasingly vibrant as the government attempts to mitigate disastrous effects on the world's second largest economy, but social distancing and quarantines for new arrivals remain the norm.