With many subways and bus routes suspended in Beijing because of a coronavirus outbreak, many residents chose to ride bicycles to work on Thursday, the first workday after the five-day May Day holiday.

More than 60 subway stops were affected, and about 200 bus routes were halted or had route changes on Wednesday to avoid infection risk, Beijing News reported. Online car-hailing platforms were also ordered to reduce services in areas with a risk of transmission.

To meet the increasing need for shared bikes — which are popular with commuters in cities — operators in Beijing increased the number of bikes in places where other public transport was limited. They also strengthened bike disinfection procedures.

Hello Bike, a ride-share provider, arranged for more than 4,000 bikes to be available on Wednesday night at several sites in Beijing's Chaoyang district, where residents are required to work from home starting on Thursday, the report said.

If residents need to take public transport, they must provide a negative result of a nucleic acid test taken within seven days.

Beijing found 42 local confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and eight asymptomatic carriers, according to the Municipal Health Commission.

As of Wednesday, the capital had 13 high-risk areas and 34 medium-risk areas.