Zhengzhou, home to Apple’s largest iPhone factory, will be largely locked down for five days.
Apple’s largest iPhone factory, will be largely locked down for five days after officials in the Chinese city said the Covid-19 pandemic had entered a critical phase.
So-called mobility controls — an apparent euphemism for a lockdown — will be imposed in main urban areas from 25-29 November because of rising Covid cases, Zhengzhou’s pandemic taskforce said in a statement late on Wednesday. The city reported 996 infections on Wednesday, up from 813 a day earlier. The new restrictions were announced after hundreds of workers at Apple’s main iPhone-making plant in Zhengzhou streamed out of dormitories earlier in the day. Crowds in the Foxconn Technology Group plant jostled and pushed past the outnumbered guards, according to videos from the scene.According to the lockdown order, people living in areas designated as high risk must stay at home, while others are advised not to leave their residences or compounds unless necessary.
Zhengzhou is known as “iPhone City” for the size of the iPhone manufacturing facilities there. The district holding these factories is not included in the eight districts to be placed under lockdown, according to the list in the government’s statement. When a district-level lockdown in Zhengzhou was lifted earlier this month, the plant was in an area classed as high risk and was still subject to curbs.
The new measures in Zhengzhou show the difficulty of applying a lighter, more targeted approach to Covid when the aim is still to suppress outbreaks. More contagious variants of the virus have made China’s Covid Zero policy, which was deployed successfully during the initial outbreak in Wuhan, virtually untenable without sweeping restrictions.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
JSE faces mixed Asian markets as Covid-19 cases climb in ChinaMajor cities in the world’s second-largest economy have imposed restrictions on movement
Read more »
Asian markets rise on rate hopes but China Covid casts shadowAnalysts have warned that a major slowdown in the Chinese economy could spark a recession globally.
Read more »
Global shares reclaim some losses as traders’ risk appetite improvesEquities edge higher, though worry about more Covid infections in China tempers gains
Read more »
JSE muted as investors assess effect of rising Covid-19 cases in ChinaAccording to Bloomberg, Covid-19 restrictions now weigh on a fifth of China’s economy as infections continue their upward march
Read more »
Beijing sees record Covid cases as China outbreak spiralsChina's capital Beijing posted a record number of new Covid cases on Tuesday, with the city hunkering down under a tightening chokehold of restrictions.
Read more »