Many businesses across China are set to remain closed on Monday, despite the government’s efforts to restart the world’s second-largest economy following a deadly outbreak of coronavirus. China’s State Council has urged critical industries – such as aviation – to resume operations as soon as possible, and most provinces have asked local businesses to reopen on Monday following an emergency 10-day extension to the annual Lunar New Year holiday. Many cities, led by Beijing and Shanghai, are encouraging people to work from home, while some of China’s biggest technology companies, such as Alibaba and Meituan, have extended the holiday break to February 16 or later. Alibaba said in a memo seen by the Financial Times that it would delay its plan to open tomorrow by “at least a week”.
‘If‘there’s a bump [in infections] when there are people coming back to work then we’ll know we’re in trouble again and will have to back off.
Professor Ian Lipkin, epidemiologist at Columbia University
Foxconn, China’s largest employer and Apple contractor, will not resume production at its iPhone production plant in Zhengzhou, Herran province, according to Jin Boyang, a member of the local epidemic control committee. Foxconn was not immediately available for comment. Some regions, including Heilongjiang province in northeastern China, have told employers in cities particularly hard-hit by the disease to extend the holiday break by another two weeks.
The death toll from the disease rose to 815 over the weekend, according to Chinese health authorities, exceeding the 774 fatalities caused by Sars – a similar respiratory disease that paralysed parts of the country 17 years ago. Confirmed coronavirus infections now stand at 37,612, or almost five times the number of Sars infections.