COVID-19 travel restrictions and quarantine measures depress key Chinese sectors
COVID-19 travel restrictions and quarantine measures depress key Chinese sectors
Chinese government indices that track manufacturing and services fell in February, indicating contraction in both industries. This comes as the country is containing COVID-19, with the number of recoveries outnumbering that of new infections.
“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Marketplace’s China correspondent Jennifer Pak in Shanghai about what life is like there now.
“For businesses, especially for January and February, these are slow months because of the Lunar New Year holiday,” Pak said. “So for all intents and purposes, March is when companies really have to make their quarter-one targets.”
The key question for these businesses, Pak said, is whether they can resume their operations after shutting down because of both the holiday and the virus. “The two key things that are preventing them for restarting are travel restrictions between provinces and also this self-quarantine measure for 14 days,” she said.
Outside the world of business, Pak said life is slowly coming back to the streets of Shanghai. More people are on the streets, and some restaurants have reopened sit-down dining services.
Click the audio player above to hear the interview.
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