Xi Jinping receives a temperature check as he inspects the novel coronavirus pneumonia prevention and control work at a neighbourhoods in Beijing on Monday. AP

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The Chinese president, who has called the virus a "demon," made a rare visit on Monday to meet frontline medical staff at a hospital treating infected patients.

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Xi has largely kept out of the public eye since the virus outbreak spiralled across the country from the epicentre in Hubei province to infect more than 40,000 people.

Xi Jinping speaks to residents as he inspects the novel coronavirus pneumonia prevention and control work at a neighbourhoods in Beijing. AP

He appointed Premier Li Keqiang to lead a working group tackling the outbreak, and it was Li who visited ground zero in Wuhan last month.

On Monday Xi donned a blue mask and white surgical gown to meet doctors at Beijing Ditan hospital, observe the treatment of patients and speak via video link to doctors in Wuhan, state media said.

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He then visited a residential community in central Beijing to "investigate and guide" efforts to contain the epidemic, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Video footage showed Xi having his temperature taken with an infrared thermometer, then speaking with community workers and waving at smiling residents leaning out of their apartment windows.

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The outbreak has prompted unprecedented action by the Chinese government, including locking down entire cities in Hubei province as well as cutting transport links nationwide, closing tourist attractions and telling hundreds of millions of people to stay indoors.

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The sweeping measures turned cities into ghost towns — but there were some signs of normality returning on Monday.

Strike a balance

Roads in Beijing and Shanghai had significantly more traffic and the southern city of Guangzhou said it would start to resume normal public transport.

However, for those at work, it was not an easy balance to strike.

"Of course we're worried," said a 25-year-old man surnamed Li in a Beijing beauty salon that reopened on Monday.

"When customers come in, we first take their temperature, then use disinfectant and ask them to wash their hands."

The Shanghai government suggested staggered work schedules, avoiding group meals and keeping at least one metre away from colleagues.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, thousands of people stranded aboard the World Dream cruise ship for five days were allowed to disembark Sunday after its 1,800 crew tested negative for the coronavirus.