Apple suppliers Foxconn and Unimicron Technology said on Monday they have suspended operations in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, after the tech hub imposed strict measures to stem a Covid-19 outbreak.

Shenzhen, known as China’s Silicon Valley, is carrying out mass testing after dozens of new local cases were recorded in the southern city. Officials have suspended public transport and urged people to work at home this week as much as possible.

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, said its Shenzen operations would be suspended until further notice, adding it would deploy backup plants to reduce the disruption to production.

Two sources familiar with the matter said Foxconn and its subsidiaries’ operations in Shenzhen would be suspended for the first half of the week.

One of the people said the government was allowing companies to operate if they could create a “closed management” system where employees would live and work in a bubble, cut off from the wider public. Such a system was in place during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Chip substrate and printed circuit board maker Unimicron Technology also supplies to Intel, and flexible printed circuit board maker Sunflex Technology. Sunflex said its plant would be closed until Sunday.

Locked down

Apple and Intel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China is battling its biggest Covid-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic. Multiple provinces and cities have tightened restrictions in line with Beijing’s “dynamic-clearance” ambition to suppress contagion as quickly as possible.

Officials have locked down Changchun city, the capital of north-eastern Jilin province, and shut schools in the financial hub of Shanghai. — Sarah Wu, Ben Blanchard, Yimou Lee and Norhiko Shirouzu, with Josh Horwitz, (c) 2022 Reuters