Several companies in China's eastern Zhejiang province have opted to temporarily halt production in response to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the region. Government officials in the province have imposed tighter pandemic restrictions in response to the recent surge in cases.
The stock prices of companies listed on Chinese stock exchanges plummeted on the news. Companies such as Ningbo Homelink Eco-Itech Co Ltd, Zhejiang Fenglong Electric Co Ltd, Zhejiang Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical Co Ltd, and Zhejiang Zhongxin Fluoride Materials Co Ltd announced in exchange filings their decisions to suspend production.
On Monday, the stock prices of the listed companies suffered substantial losses. Zhejiang Chunhui Intelligent Control Co Ltd and Zhejiang Yankon Group Co suffered the biggest losses, which their respective share prices dropping by as much as 7% each.
Ningbo Homelink, a plastics manufacturer, said in a late-Sunday stock exchange statement that it had paused operations in Ningbo at the request of local authorities. The company said it is now taking steps to mitigate the detrimental impact of the suspension of operations on its company.
Zhejiang Jindun Fans Co, a Chinese manufacturer of ventilation system equipment, announced on Sunday that production at its subsidiary in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, had been halted owing to anti-virus measures implemented by the local government.
This month, the company indicated, there would be some delays in product delivery and an overall negative impact on sales. The company said the impact on its entire year's earnings would be minimal.
All of the companies that announced a temporary production halt pledged to work closely with the local authorities. The companies said they would let the government decide when they could resume production.
As of the end of last week, a total of 138 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and one asymptomatic carrier were reported in Zhejiang Province. According to a provincial government news conference on Sunday, 44 cases were recorded in Ningbo, 77 cases and one asymptomatic carrier in Shaoxing, and 17 cases in Hangzhou, the province capital.
According to whole-genome sequencing and analysis, the Delta strain of the coronavirus was found to have caused the infections in the three cities. The Zhejiang provincial center for disease control and prevention said the variant is more transmissible and has a greater viral load than the original strain of the coronavirus. Local officials have placed limits on public meetings and travel outside of the province to prevent the virus from spreading further.
