Port City of Ningbo Finds 10 New Cases as Covid Flare-Up Continues

What’s new: The city of Ningbo reported 10 Covid-19 cases over the weekend at a clothing factory in the latest virus flare-up in East China’s Zhejiang province.

All 10 of the domestically transmitted cases were identified as workers at a factory owned by Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd., according to a notice (link in Chinese) published Sunday by the city government.

No other cases have been reported in other parts of Zhejiang, the notice said, and officials are working to trace the source of the cases.

In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, Shenzhou International said it is cooperating with lockdowns in the city’s Beilun district, including a “short-term suspension of production.”

The company’s shares plunged nearly 8% in Hong Kong early Monday following the announcement.

The latest cases in Beilun, which is also home to the main container terminals of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port — one of China’s busiest — have also fueled supply chain concerns.

A source told Caixin that the lockdown in Beilun hasn’t interfered much with the loading and unloading of containers, though it has caused traffic congestion at the port.

The background: Shaanxi province has also been battling its own Covid flare-up, identifying 1,690 local cases from Dec. 9 to Jan. 2, according to government data. The provincial capital Xi’an went into lockdown on Dec. 23 amid a growing delta outbreak traced to a Dec. 4 flight from Pakistan. Authorities have been struggling to establish a clear chain of transmission.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Kelsey Cheng (kelseycheng@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)

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