Shenzhen Reopens Factories As COVID Cases Retreat

That was quick.

Just days after locking down Shenzhen, China’s biggest high-tech hub, CCP authorities have decided to allow most manufacturing businesses to reopen and resume production after shutdowns created chaos in the global supply chain. As we reported the other day, factories owned by Foxconn and other major tech manufacturers were idled due to the lockdown.

Huang Qiang, deputy secretary general of Shenzhen’s government, said Thursday during a citywide press conference that mass screening had gone smoothly since the start of the planned week-long lockdown began on Monday. So far, there have been fewer confirmed cases from community screening in recent days and most new cases have been found among quarantined close contacts or areas placed under restrictions.

On Thursday, Shenzhen reported 71 symptomatic cases and 20 asymptomatic cases, as China logged more than 2,400 local infections nationwide, a number that was even lower than the 3,000+ new cases reported on Wednesday, which in turn was lower than the 5,000+ number from Tuesday (which was also the largest daily tally since the Wuhan outbreak two years ago), according to SCMP.

Huang said Shenzhen still faces the risk of new imported cases, or a resurgence from the virus that’s still spreading, especially in the city’s overcrowded urban villages.

“We will keep conducting citywide mass screening…to quickly identify the infected and cut transmission links,” he said. “At the same time, we are building a strong line of defense against cases from outside the city.”

He also said that the government has put getting factories and businesses up and running on the agenda.

“We will organise the resumption of work and production in an orderly manner, guide enterprises in areas such as the disinfection of factories, monitoring employees’ temperature and improving ventilation in staff canteens,” he said. “We will also provide businesses with practical help to resolve problems like manpower, capital and raw materials.”

Meanwhile, Shenzhen is also planning on relocating some families in Tangyan village in its Futian district for a 14-day centralized quarantine, after COVID cases were found earlier in the neighborhood.

The area will be thoroughly disinfected and residents can return ‘in an orderly manner’ after a 14-day monitoring period. Designated teams will be put in place to cater to those who need additional care, like the elderly with chronic illnesses.

Lockdowns have rattled China’s economy, creating a major threat to GDP growth, as the following chart from Goldman shows.

With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why the CCP is scrambling to get factories back up and running as quickly as possible.

Presently, all shops and businesses are closed in Shenzhen except for supermarkets and restaurants offering takeout. The shutdowns have strained China’s economy and hammered its stocks, prompting the CCP yesterday to announce that it would take steps to buttress the stock market after several brutal days in the red.