Fighting viruses spurs economic slowdown, ripples in the world economy
(British Economist magazine, August 21, 2021 issue)
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The fight against the new coronavirus has spurred a slowdown in China and has led to global supply turmoil.
The port of Ningbo, which faces the eastern coast of China, has been used for trade since the Tang Dynasty in the 8th century. At the end of the First Opium War in 1842, it was forcibly opened to foreign merchants along with four other ports.
The port, which merged with the adjacent Port of Ningbo in 2015, handled more cargo than any other port in the world in the first half of this year.
Recently, a group of 80 students spent three days exploring the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and, in the words of Ningbo City officials, admired the port’s “hardcore” power.
But on August 11, one of the busiest container terminals at the port suddenly shut down.
A 34-year-old stevedore who came into contact with the crew of an arriving ship was diagnosed with a new Coronavirus Delta strain, despite having been vaccinated twice with a Chinese Sinovac vaccine. ..
Only one worker was infected, but the government stopped operations throughout the port by itself, leaving 254 close contacts (plus 396 who were in contact with close contacts). Isolated.
Relentless infection control measures
This story is interesting in three ways.
First, it shows once again how difficult it is to stop the Delta strain at the water’s edge.
Second, it highlights that China is nevertheless trying hard to stop it.
And thirdly, it can be seen that the impact is likely to be widespread throughout the world.
Prior to the closure of this terminal, there was a similar suspension of operations at Yantian Harbor in southern China in May this year (there was confusion last month due to the approach of the typhoon “Infa”).
According to Freights, the digital shipping market, shipping cargo from China to its final destination in the United States took 47 days last August, but now it takes about 70 days.
Some experts are concerned that even the Christmas sales season in Western countries could be disrupted due to delays in transportation and fears of future port closures.
The outbreak of dock workers has been linked to the first outbreak found at Nanjing Airport on July 20.
The outbreak spread to more than 10 provinces on August 10.
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