Amid the worsening Covid situation in China, the Port of Shanghai- which is the world’s biggest container port, is isolating the shipment of international goods to prevent disruptions to global exports.
An oil-shipping broker told news agency Bloomberg on Friday (December 23) the port is keeping overseas vessels in a closed-loop zone to avoid massive delays, adding most infected staff have mild symptoms and backup teams and emergency plans are in place.
Till now, ports in China are not struggling as they did earlier this year when a lockdown was imposed. Industry workers pointed out that while there were delays in repairing ships at the Zhoushan port and loading activities in Shanghai had slowed due to lower staffing, for the most part, ports were continuing to operate, the Bloomberg report said.
Ports in the country are currently operating in a dramatically changed economic environment as the global demand has significantly weakened, which has helped to untangle the congestion in trade.
However, the normal operations of the ports can be affected as Covid makes its way virtually through Shanghai’s population. Dimerco Express, a logistics expert, has said that the increase in infections has started to impact supply chains that rely on China, the report added.
Covid infections in Shanghai have been increasing since last week. A hospital in the city warned its staff of a tragic battle against the virus. According to a post on WeChat by the Shanghai Deji Hospital, there were about 5.43 million positive cases in the city and 12.5 million will get infected by year-end. The post currently stands deleted.
Hospitals in Shanghai are already overburdened with the increasing number of patients, businesses are closing down due to staff falling sick and most schools have closed. Many residents are isolating themselves voluntarily.
(With inputs from agencies)
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