BEIJING — Amid further containment of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, China is powering ahead in returning to work and resuming business and production. The following are the latest facts and figures:

— About 90 percent of online stores in China have resumed operation by far based on a survey on 3.5 million major online retail stores, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on April 23. 

The work resumption rate increased by 20 percentage points from the end of February, said MOC spokesperson Gao Feng at a press conference.

Online sales played a bigger role in promoting consumption, with that of physical goods accounting for 23.6 percent of the total retail sales in the first quarter of this year, Gao said.

— China is expected to see its weakened demand for steel forge a strong recovery in the second quarter as the country's infrastructure investment and production resumption gains more momentum, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said.

CISA official He Wenbo said the quarter-on-quarter growth would be remarkable, citing favorable demand-side plans, including the renovation projects of old urban residential areas and enhanced investment into "new infrastructure". 

China will intensify the renovation of old urban residential areas in 2020, with 39,000 communities to be renovated and benefiting around 7 million households.

— Chinese internet giants Alibaba Group, JD.com, and Tencent have launched booking services for COVID-19 tests, the companies said.

Ali Health, Alibaba's health care subsidiary, has offered testing appointments in 10 cities, including Shanghai and Beijing starting from April 21. It will extend the service in 28 more cities this week.

Users searching for "coronavirus nucleic acid test" in Taobao, Alibaba's main e-commerce site, will be directed to a page offering booking services.

JD Health, JD.com's health care subsidiary, and WeChat, Tencent's social media platform, also launched similar booking platforms for COVID-19 tests in Beijing, Guangzhou, and other cities.

The services have been launched as China accelerates COVID-19 nucleic acid testing to promote epidemic prevention and control and speed up the resumption of production.

— After grappling with the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic for months, companies in China have devised ways to turn the tide against the virus and keep their businesses afloat.

By April 15, about 84 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises, the most sensitive to weaker consumer demand, had resumed work, according to official data.