China's factories lose momentum amid tsunami of Covid cases as curbs ease

Outbreaks have the potential to cripple production or tear through employee rosters, threatening the global supply of everything from cars and golf carts to kitchen appliances and, of course, iPhones

From locking in workers to hoarding medicines, beds and disinfectant, China’s factories are going to great lengths to keep the machines running — and the global supply chain intact — as an onslaught of Covid cases looms.
 

The world’s second-biggest economy is rapidly dismantling restrictions that largely kept the virus at bay for almost three years. The resulting eruption in infections is set to be a key test for a vast network of factories that account for almost one-third of the world’s manufacturing output. Those plants are now taking extraordinary steps to ward off infections. 

Sinopec, for example, likens the