China's official coronavirus case count has dropped, but the actual number is believed to be much higher after the government eased its zero-COVID policy.

The Chinese government says more than 8,000 new cases were confirmed on Sunday. The daily tally dropped to about one-fifth of the figure when the infection peaked in late November.

But the case count is believed to have fallen partly because fewer people are taking PCR tests, after authorities stopped requesting people to present negative test results at many public places.

Those who test positive often do not report it to authorities, as the government has stopped quarantining all infected people and began to allow patients with no or mild symptoms to self-isolate at home.

These developments have made it difficult to grasp the actual number of cases.

In central Beijing on Monday, few pedestrians and vehicles are seen on the streets as people still refrain from going out to avoid getting infected.