Although the war against the coronavirus has been relegated to the news today in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unfortunately the virus is still among us. To the point that China has confined most of the population of Shenzhen after the “worst coronavirus outbreak since the outbreak of the pandemic.”
Shenzen, in addition, is one of the most important cities not only in China, but also in its reflection in the rest of the world, since “the Chinese Silicon Valley” is home to some of the most important macro-companies at a technological level, such as Huawei. , OnePlus, ZTE, TCL or Tencent.
China’s tech hub comes to a standstill
China’s government responded on Sunday to a spike in coronavirus infections by closing its southern business hub, Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people. All residents of this financial and technology hub that borders Hong Kong will undergo three rounds of testing after more than 60 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Sunday, March 13, 2022.
COVID-19 tests
Starting Monday, all transportation in the city and all residential complexes will remain closed, reports the Chinese international state daily Global Times.
All businesses except those supplying food, fuel and other necessities have been ordered to close or work from home.
Some of the most important companies in China are located in Shenzhen, such as the telecommunications company Huawei Technologies, the electric car brand BYD Auto, the insurer Ping An Insurance and Tencent Holding, operator of the popular WeChat messaging service, among many other lines of communication. business.
In addition, Xiaomi plans to build a huge headquarters of about 46,000 square meters and a gigantic 360º wraparound LED screen on its facade known as Xiaomi Cube to house Shenzhen Xiaomi Communication Technology, a subsidiary of the Xiaomi group.
Xiaomi Cube Project in Shenzen
In this way, the aforementioned technology companies, not being considered essential, will remain closed until further notice or will have to plan teleworking in the areas that can be carried out.
Although these figures may seem very low for such alarmism (especially compared to the more than 32,000 cases in neighboring Hong Kong on the same day), China has a “zero tolerance against coronavirus” policy.
Chinese health authorities have reported this Sunday the highest daily number of infections recorded for two years: 1,807 cases in the last 24 hours on its mainland, which is the worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic despite being a tiny percentage for a country with 1,411 million inhabitants.
World’s largest iPhone assembler affected
This closure has also affected the Taiwanese technology company Foxconn, known for being the world’s largest iPhone assembler, as it reported today the temporary suspension of operations at its factories in the southeastern Chinese city, although they will try to compensate by readjusting other production lines. .
Quarantine could affect iPhone assembly
“Thanks to the diversification of our production poles in China, we have adjusted the production line to minimize the potential impact,” said a company spokesperson quoted by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Postwhich notes that no date has been specified for the resumption of operations in Shenzhen.
The roughly 200,000 people who work at Foxconn at its two Shenzhen compounds will be required to undergo tests for COVID-19, along with other measures aimed at trying to prevent them from becoming infected.
The company, one of the main suppliers of the American technology company Apple, opened its first factory in China 34 years ago in Shenzhen, although in recent years it has been diverting part of its production to other areas of the interior where labor costs are lower.
