Shanghai, April 18 (BUS): Manufacturers, including Tesla, began preparing to reopen their factories in Shanghai on Monday, as the city accelerated its efforts to exit the COVID-19 lockdown that has forced most businesses in China’s economic hub to close for nearly three weeks.
Two sources told Reuters that Tesla has recalled workers to its factory in preparation for restarting. They added that while the US automaker initially intended to resume one production shift on Monday, it is now looking to do so on Tuesday. Reuters reported that one of the sources said one of the reasons was that one of the suppliers was having problems with logistics.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SAIC Motor, the Chinese partner of Volkswagen and General Motors, said it will begin stress testing of plans to resume production on Monday.
Meanwhile, Shanghai aims to stop the spread of COVID-19 outside its quarantine areas by Wednesday, Reuters quoted sources as saying on Sunday, which will allow further easing of the lockdown. It is working to escalate tests and transfer positive cases and their close contacts to isolation centers to achieve this goal.
The shutdown has brought business to a standstill in China’s most populous city, while broader restrictions are upsetting global supply chains and increasingly affecting the world’s second-largest economy during an important year for President Xi Jinping, who is expected to secure the world’s third-largest economy. the world. Autumn driving period.
Residents exhausted by the lockdown are experiencing hardships that for many include difficulties securing food as well as lost income, separated families and poor conditions in quarantine centres.
While Shanghai previously said businesses could remain open if they could isolate their workers on-site through “closed-loop management,” that has proven stressful for many including Tesla and Volkswagen, which closed their factories on April 1.
And even if workers are willing to stay on site, purchasing supplies has become difficult after cities near Shanghai implemented their own COVID-19 restrictions and trucking has been severely disrupted.
China’s industry regulator stepped in on Friday, publishing a “white list” of 666 companies mainly in the semiconductor, automobile and medical supply sectors in Shanghai that it prioritized on-going operations.
An employee of a listed company, who did not wish to be identified because she was not authorized to speak in public, was told by her employer that she could apply for a drive-to-work permit or be picked up from home.
Other companies preparing to reopen include biotech company Shanghai Raas Blood Products Co Ltd and a unit from Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, state-backed Shanghai Securities News reported Monday.
Businesses applying to resume work must stock up on medical supplies and also create closed loops for workers who must live in the workplace or are restricted to travel between work and home, according to the guidelines issued on Saturday.
Shanghai is under pressure to implement China’s strategy to get rid of COVID-19, which has largely kept the coronavirus at bay for the past two years but is increasingly challenged by the highly contagious variant of Omicron.
On Monday, Wu Qianyu, an official from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said the city will start a new round of daily PCR and antigen tests for residents in “closed” and “controlled” areas from Monday to Thursday.
“We hope that the majority of our citizens will continue to cooperate as always,” she said at a press conference on Monday.
“So we can stop the spread of the virus, achieve the goal of eradicating the virus at the community level as quickly as possible, and allow production and normal life to resume.”
Shanghai has conducted more than 200 million PCR si . testsOn March 10, when cases in the city began to rise, state media reported.
Of the 21,395 new local infections reported by Shanghai on Sunday, 561 were found outside quarantine areas, down from 722 cases on Saturday, the third consecutive decline.
Shanghai also reported that three people infected with COVID-19 died on Sunday, the first time during the current outbreak that it has reported deaths among coronavirus patients.
The city said the two patients, two women and a man aged 89 and 91, had underlying health conditions such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
MI