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Apple products to get delayed as Foxconn stops ops amidst China’s worst Covid outbreak

Apple products to get delayed as Foxconn stops ops amidst China’s worst Covid outbreak

China Covid outbreak

Apple supplier Foxconn has suspended its operations in tech hub Shenzhen city following lockdown as China experiences probably one of its worst Covid outbreak since the pandemic first broke out.

The decision to halt production is likely to hit Apple which recently announced a spate of products, including the iPhone, MacBook Air, etc.

"The operation of Foxconn in Shenzhen, China has been suspended from March 14 onwards in compliance with the local government's new COVID-19 policy," the Taiwanese company said in a statement.

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The sporadic rise of Covid cases has caught the officials off-guard as many cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, are battling outbreaks liked to Omircon, which is currently raving neighbouring Hong Kong.

Mainland China reported 1,337 new domestically transmitted Covid cases with confirmed symptoms on March 13, the National Health Commission said on Monday.

Around 17 million residents in southern Shenzen city are under lockdown and have been told to stay at home.

The lockdown and a suspension of public transport are expected to last till March 20, a city government notice said, adding that it would launch three rounds of mass testing.

In Shanghai, several schools have been shut as 18 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants.

A disease expert in Beijing has noted that most infections in Hong Kong and the mainland are due to the Omicron BA.2 variant which is “spreading very fast this time”.

Zhang Wenhong pointed out that vaccination could not prevent breakthrough infections, but has brought the rate of severe illnesses and deaths lower than the flu.

“It is still not time for China to lie flat. We should have more clearer methods for the future rather than debating over zero-COVID or co-existence. If China reopens quickly at this time, new cases would surge in a short time. The domestic medical system would be overloaded and the society grind to a halt, causing irreparable damages,” Global Times quoted Zhang as saying.

Watch |China locks down tech hub Shenzen; Curbs imposed in Shanghai,other major cities

(With inputs from agencies)