Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. announced the suspension of operations at its Shenzhen plant Monday following the imposition of a COVID-19-induced citywide lockdown Sunday.

City health authorities introduced the lockdown Sunday night after recording 66 new confirmed cases, including six asymptomatic patients a day earlier. The lockdown is scheduled to continue until March 20.

Hon Hai said it would reassign production at the Shenzhen plant to other locations in China in a bid to minimize the impact on its operations.

The firm told CNA that they had suspended operations in compliance with the new regulations, adding that the resumption of production at the Shenzhen complex would be subject to further notice from the local health authorities.

Hon Hai said its Shenzhen production compound had begun having all its employees take polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in addition to other measures to ensure the health and safety of workers at the site.

The lockdown in Shenzhen comes amid an uptick of COVID-19 cases across China.

The Shenzhen complex is engaged in development and new product introduction (NPI) for Apple’s iPhones, while another Hon Hai production base in Zhengzhou, Henan province is responsible for mass-producing the iPhones.

Analysts said that as the latest iPhone SE, unveiled by Apple last week, had entered commercial production, the suspension of the Shenzhen complex was unlikely to affect the new iPhone shipments.

According to a recently released Apple supplier list, iPhone assembly is handled by Hon Hai’s plants in Longhua and Guanlan tech parks in Shenzhen, and its production lines in the Futian Free Trade Zone in the city.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel