Coronavirus has done what neither the Hong Kong police, the local legislature or the Chinese Communist Party could, with the outbreak pausing the city's protest movement.

Key points: People have withdrawn from Hong Kong's streets amid the outbreak

People have withdrawn from Hong Kong's streets amid the outbreak But many expect protesters to return once the threat has eased

But many expect protesters to return once the threat has eased Supporters of the pro-democracy movement say their fight will continue

For almost 11 months, pro-democracy protesters filled Hong Kong's streets, campaigning for a more democratic system of government.

Train stations and traffic lights were frequently smashed and infrastructure set alight.

Tear gas and water cannon were routinely deployed as the city's police force tried night after night to quell the unrest.

Protesters frequently shielded themselves as authorities deployed water cannon against them. ( ABC News: Brant Cumming )

But according to Hong Kong teacher Lau Kam Fai, it has been the outbreak of coronavirus that has finally seen people withdraw from the streets.

"[There are] only a few lunch [protest] gatherings in the week for an hour or so," he said in a WhatsApp message.

"Nearly all people are avoiding crowded places or close gatherings or meetings.

"There are some infected cases in which people are affected in the same banquet or church, so people avoid gathering publicly."

Hong Kong teacher Lau Kam Fai says people are fearful of gathering in big numbers. ( WhatsApp )

In an article for The Diplomat, Hong Kong-based political scientist Brian Fong said "calm" had been restored to Hong Kong's streets "in an extraordinary way".

"Since January, street protests have been almost completely halted to avoid the concentration of large crowds under the coronavirus crisis," he said.

Usually busy streets transformed

Hong Kong lawyer and political commentator Kevin Yam agreed.

"I think the protest movement was starting to go a little bit quiet anyway before the whole coronavirus situation," he said.

Legal expert Kevin Yam says the outbreak has resulted in an uneasy calm. ( ABC News: Brant Cumming )

"Then the whole outbreak happened and I think the whole idea of people trying not to congregate in large numbers in close proximity just made having mass protests that much more difficult.

"It's an uneasy calm, there's not much action but there's actually a lot of anger bubbling underneath."

Mr Yam said Hong Kong's usually busy streets were dead.

"They're more dead now than at any time during the height of the violent protests and businesses, retailers, restaurants that I talk to are saying that, whereas during the protests, businesses were pretty much only down during the weekends," he said.

"Now every day is a bad business day for retailers and restaurateurs."

Vision obtained by the ABC of Hong Kong airport yesterday showed a completely empty terminal.

Protest movement buried but not dead

South China Morning Post chief news editor Yonden Lhatoo said the anti-government movement had not been quelled, and expected protesters to return to the streets once the threat of coronavirus eased.

Fires were repeatedly lit by protesters as the pro-democracy campaign dragged on. ( ABC News: Brant Cumming )

"Oh yes absolutely, they'll be back with a vengeance, you can bet on that," he said.

"The minute this health crisis is over, bang, you'll see them all back on the streets, because nothing has been solved, nothing has been fixed, it's just the coronavirus coming along and interrupting everything."

Mr Lhatoo said the Hong Kong government's handling of the outbreak had increased public anger towards it.

"We've had incidents where local residents have been up in arms about buildings in their neighbourhoods being designated as quarantine centres," he said.

"So they've come out to protest against that and when they've come out to protest against that it comes back to the same old problems regarding the anti-government movement.

"And then things get rowdy, police open fire with tear gas sometimes, pepper spray people, so that's still happening.

"Not on the industrial scale that you've seen over the past few months last year but it's still happening very much."

Joshua Wong, a 23-year-old activist and one of the most prominent faces of Hong Kong's protests, was adamant the fight for democracy in Hong Kong was not over.

When approached for an interview about the coronavirus-related pause to the street protests, he rejected the suggestion they had come to an end.

"The protest didn't stop and we still continue the strike," he said in an email to the ABC.