Foxconn Halts iPhone Factory in Shenzhen Lockdown: Virus Update

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(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn halted operations at its Shenzhen sites, one of which produces iPhones, after the Chinese government placed 17.5 million residents of the southern city into lockdown for at least a week.

China is seeking to halt a growing Covid-19 outbreak with a move that could cause wider production delays in the key technology hub and port. The city’s port will tighten its closed-loop management for cross-border shipping as the neighboring territory of Hong Kong reported more than 32,000 new Covid cases and 190 deaths, underscoring the struggle to contain the latest wave of the pandemic in this region of China.

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Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni tested positive as the number of cases in the kingdom climbed to more than 900 since the outbreak began in February. Former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he has tested positive but is “feeling fine” apart from a “scratchy throat.”

Key Developments:

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China’s Big Banks Halt In-Person Services in Shenzhen Lockdown (10:15 a.m. HK)

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Bank of China Ltd., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp. will suspend operations at all branches in Shenzhen from Monday until March 20, according to notices on their official Wechat accounts. 

The banks will still provide online services via channels including mobile apps and online portals, the notices said.

Foxconn Halts IPhone Shenzhen Site Due to Covid Lockdown (10:05 a.m. HK)

Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn is halting operations at its Shenzhen sites, one of which produces iPhones, in response to the lockdown on the tech hub city.

The Taiwanese company, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., has its China headquarters in the area and a key manufacturing site in Guanlan. It is suspending operations at the two campuses and has reallocated production to other sites to reduce the impact from the disruption, the company said in a statement. Foxconn didn’t specify the length of the suspension.

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The measures from the Chinese government call for non-essential businesses in Shenzhen to halt until March 20.

While the shutdown may affect production of many of the devices Foxconn makes for Apple and other brands, demand for electronics typically troughs in the first quarter of every year after the holiday-season peak.

Shenzhen’s Ports Tighten Covid Control Measures Amid Lockdown (8:43 a.m. HK)

Shenzhen will tighten its closed-loop management for cross-border shipping amid a citywide lockdown, its Transport Department said in a statement Sunday.

Truck drivers entering Shenzhen are now required to hold negative Covid-19 test results within 24 hours, and get tested again upon arrival at the port, statement said. Customs clearance hours at Wenjindu Port, which was designated for shipping fresh food products to Hong Kong, will be extended to 20 hours per day, from 15 hours.

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The city’s ports will also set quotas on how many vehicles can enter each day, and operate based on reservation system, according to the statement. Shenzhen also designated four areas for truck drivers from the mainland and Hong Kong to meet and exchange vehicles, statement said

Hong Kong May Limit One Person Per Table at Restaurants: Sing Tao (8:25 a.m. HK)

Hong Kong doesn’t rule out limiting the number of people per table at restaurants to one from two to further tighten social distancing rules if Covid cases remain high, Sing Tao reported in a column, citing unidentified people.

The government is also considering mass testing when the number of daily Covid cases falls below 10,000 as the city should have enough isolation facilities by that time, the paper said. Hong Kong still hasn’t decided whether a lockdown will be imposed during mass testing.

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Tonga’s Prime Minister Positive as Cases Surge, Stuff Says (6:46 a.m. HK)

Tonga’s prime minister Siaosi Sovaleni tested positive for Covid-19, while the number of cases in the kingdom has climbed to more than 900 since the outbreak began in February, New Zealand’s Stuff reported.

A spokesman from the prime minister’s office said Sovaleni, who was fully vaccinated and boosted, had mild symptoms and was isolating at his home with members of his immediate family, Stuff said.

Tonga’s Covid-19 outbreak of the Omicron variant began on Feb. 1, when two frontline workers at the wharf tested positive for the virus.

China Locks Down Technology Hub Shenzhen as Covid Cases Jump (4:35 a.m. HK)

China placed the 17.5 million residents of the southern city of Shenzhen into lockdown for at least a week, seeking to halt a growing Covid-19 outbreak with a move that could cause disruption and production delays in the key technology hub and port.

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The lockdown, which came after virus cases doubled nationwide to nearly 3,400, will be accompanied by three rounds of city-wide, mass testing, according to a government notice. The measure, announced Sunday, followed earlier restrictions placed on Shenzhen’s central business district, and will last until March 20. 

All bus and subway systems were shut, and businesses, except those providing essential services, have been closed. Employees were told to work from home if they can. Residents will be barred from leaving Shenzhen — home to the headquarters of giants Huawei Technologies Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., as well as one of China’s busiest ports — except in limited situations.

See Video: China Locks Down Shenzhen as Covid Cases Jump

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Former President Barack Obama Has Covid (3:56 p.m. NY)

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he has tested positive but is “feeling fine” apart from a “scratchy throat.” Michelle Obama tested negative, he said on Twitter.

“It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down,” he said.

Pfizer CEO Says New Booster Needed ‘Now’ (2:30 p.m. NY)

A second booster shot against Covid-19 is needed “right now” because of waning immunity, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said. 

The company is in the process of submitting data to U.S. health officials on an additional booster, as well as planning further for a vaccine that would “protect against all variants” and offer protection for a year, he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

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The first booster, he said, is still “quite good for hospitalizations and deaths. It’s not that good against infections.”

Bourla also said he expects to submit data on vaccines for children under age 5 next month. In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration postponed a review of Pfizer data for the youngest children, citing the need for more information on a three-dose regimen of shots. 

Hong Kong Says About 300,000 People in Isolation or Quarantine (2:17 p.m. HK)

Hong Kong reported more than 32,000 new Covid cases and 190 deaths, health official Dr. Albert Au said at a briefing. Persistent daily case counts of at least 30,000 a day show coronavirus clusters still exist in the city, Au said.

New cases include 13,335 confirmed by nucleic acid tests and 19,095 by rapid antigen tests. The city recorded 190 new Covid deaths, aged 39 to 105 years old, and 101 patients are in intensive care units, Hospital Authority Chief Manager Dr Sara Ho said. There were also 74 “backlogged” fatalities.

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About 300,000 people in Hong Kong are currently in isolation or under home quarantine, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a press conference on Sunday. The city plans to mobilize all sectors to fight Covid and help quell the fifth wave of the pandemic.

China’s Virus Outbreak Worsens (10:20 a.m. HK)

China reported more than 3,300 Covid-19 infections on Saturday as the country faces its worst outbreak since the early days of the pandemic and officials step up efforts to stem the spread.

There were 1,807 confirmed local infections and 1,315 asymptomatic cases, the National Health Commission said on Sunday. The northeastern province of Jilin accounted for more than 2,100 of the cases. China also reported more than 200 imported cases. 

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Shanghai to Halt Cross-Province Bus Services (3:40 p.m. HK)

Nine cross-province bus stations have halted operations in the city with destinations mainly to provinces including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shandong and Jiangxi, according to a statement on a local government website.

Shanghai will suspend all cross-province bus services from March 14. 

Virus Cases in U.S. Steady (4:55 a.m. HK)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. were little changed from the previous day at about 79.5 million, as of 2:40 a.m. Hong Kong time on Saturday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The national increase in cases matched the average daily gain of less than 0.1% over the past week.

Brazil to Review Sinovac Use on Children Ages 3 to 5 (3:05 a.m. HK)

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Instituto Butantan, the distributor of the Sinovac shot, has asked Brazil to use the Sinovac vaccine on 3 to 5 year olds. Brazil’s health regulatory agency will have seven days starting Monday to review the request, according to a statement from the agency known as Anvisa.

Sinovac’s CoronaVac Covid vaccine has been in use in Brazil since June 2021, and was extended to children as young as six this year.

China’s Tech Hub to Work from Home (8:40 p.m. HK)

China has asked residents in the technology hub of Shenzhen to work from home and has closed non-essential venues in a southern Chinese city as the country braces for a nationwide Covid-19 resurgence.

The growing clusters spawned by the highly infectious omicron variant in China’s most developed large cities and economic powerhouses have turned into an unprecedented challenge for the country’s Covid Zero strategy, a policy abandoned by the rest of the world. 

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