A Beijing man has landed thousands of his neighbours in quarantine after he ignored a stay-at-home order and later tested positive for Covid, prompting a police investigation.

The capital city has ordered hundreds of thousands of residents to stay home over the last five weeks to curb its largest coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

Officials said on Sunday a man in his 40s surnamed Sun had failed to follow a requirement to isolate that he was given after he visited a shopping centre considered "high risk".

"During the home isolation period he... went out many times and walked in the neighbourhood," said Beijing public security official Pan Xuhong.

Sun and his wife later tested positive, prompting authorities to lock down 5,000 of their neighbours at home and send 250 to a government quarantine centre.

It comes as virus restrictions began to be eased in Beijing on Monday, with authorities re-opening parks, museums and cinemas and declaring the outbreak under control.

Beijing reported eight new domestically transmitted symptomatic coronavirus cases for May 29, down from 14 a day earlier, the city government said on Monday.

Local asymptomatic cases also fell to four from seven from the previous day, it said. (AFP/Reuters)