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Photo: REUTERS
A subsidiary of Apple supplier Foxconn has closed two factories outside of Shanghai after multiple Covid-19 cases were reported locally.
The factories are located in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, a small town between Shanghai and historic Suzhou.
According to the company, their closure should not have any major impact on Apple.
"As production has already moved to backup factories, the factory's key products are in a foreign shipping warehouse and inventory levels are still sufficient, the impact on the company's business is limited," Foxconn said in a statement.
Production stops and food shortages
China has been under strict lockdown in Shanghai since late March to contain the country's strongest coronavirus outbreak since early 2020.
Millions have been locked in their homes as the Chinese government continues to pursue a controversial zero-Covid strategy.
Neighboring Kunshan has recently tightened the restrictions significantly.
In Beijing, the 3.5 million inhabitants of the largest district, Chaoyang, have to be tested every two days after discovering a few dozen corona infections.
The fear of strict curfews in the Chinese capital caused panic buying and empty shelves in supermarkets.
It is currently unclear whether there will be a lockdown.
The strict Covid rules in Shanghai have already disrupted production at other international companies such as Tesla and led to food shortages.
The largest container port in the world is also heavily burdened by the restrictions.
At times, more than 300 cargo ships waited in front of the port area of the Chinese economic metropolis to be loaded or unloaded.
rai/dpa/Reuters