Chinese manufacturers in Shenzhen, including Huawei and SMIC, go under ‘closed-loop’ operating mode amid Omicron outbreak

Major Chinese manufacturing enterprises in Shenzhen, including Huawei Technologies Co, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) and drone maker DJI, have been advised to go under a “closed-loop” production system that restricts movement of employees, according to industry sources with knowledge of the local government directive.

The initiative, which started on Sunday and concludes after seven days, comes as the southern Chinese tech hub doubles its efforts to stave off a fresh outbreak of Covid-19’s Omicron variant, which has made the city’s residents wary of heightened control measures.

The Shenzhen government has also ordered these large firms, including telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp, manufacturing conglomerate BYD and Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group, to lock up their gates and limit entry of visitors, according to the sources, who declined to be named because the government directive has not been made public.

The directive also covers China National Offshore Oil Corp, medical devices maker Mindray and others ranked in the city’s top 100 industrial firms, the sources said.