Covid-19 is evolving fast and information on these matter changes every day.
As of February 19, 2020, the total of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is 74,289, of which 61,682 are located in Hubei province. The number of deaths due to the virus is 2,006 – 1921 in Hubei – which puts the global mortality rate of the epidemic at 2.7%.
However, the situation is expected to normalize in the upcoming weeks.
To stabilize production and employment, the Chinese Government has taken a series of protection measures for companies & enterprises such as the request for scientific classifications on the control of the epidemic based on the actual situation of its spread; and to eliminate unnecessary bans to return to work. In addition, local governments will provide practical guides to resume factory production.
Therefore, this week local governments have lifted the strict rules for the factories to reopen and have encouraged the return of workers from other provinces to their jobs. In addition, they have issued new guidelines to facilitate domestic trucking.
The aforementioned guidelines indicate that production in China (with the exception of Hubei Province) will return to normal very soon and the peak in import/export demand is expected to happen in 3-4 weeks. Therefore, it is very important to have a contingency plan for the weeks that are about to come.
Most shipping companies are already operational in all ports with part of the staff working in the office and part from home.
The updates of the offices of our main ports as of February 19, 2020 are the following:
|
LOCATION |
OFFICES | WAREHOUSES & TRUCKING |
PORTS & CARRIERS |
|
Ningbo |
Offices are open and operational. 30% of the staff are working in the office and the rest are still working remotely from home. | All warehouses have returned to operation, but 2 days advanced appointment required for cargo delivery. Trucking services are resumed, but the services are limited due to the shortage of truck drivers. | The Ports are open and operational. Carriers, except for Maersk, have resumed offices. Many carriers have introduced blank sailings. |
|
Shenzhen |
Offices are open and operational. 30% of the staff are working in the office and the rest are still working remotely from home. | Warehouses have returned to operation. However, do expect delays. Trucking has resumed but expected the service is not 100% back as normal and 24 hours advance booking is required. | The Ports are open and operational. Carriers, except for Maersk, have resumed offices. Many carriers have introduced blank sailings. |
INFOGRAPHICS: UPDATE OF THE COVID-19
Please contact us about any questions regarding your import or export operations to or from China, or if you have relevant information on the subject.
We will keep you informed as we have new information.
