International trade will be able to resume. China lifted health restrictions at one of the world’s major freight ports on Wednesday. The port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, located 250 km south of Shanghai, had been partially shut down in early August after the appearance of an outbreak of Covid-19, which severely penalized logistics transport.
Last year, 1.2 billion tonnes of goods passed through the docks of this port, the third largest in the world in terms of shipment. The discovery on August 11 of a case of Covid-19 among site employees led to the closure of a terminal, Meishan, which has a capacity of 10 million containers.
Some 2,000 employees in isolation
Health restrictions at the Meishan Terminal will be lifted as of Wednesday for a gradual “resumption” of activity, public television CCTV said, citing a note from local authorities. The terminal should be fully operational by September 1, the document said.
Nearly 2,000 employees had been placed in isolation, at a time when global supply chains were already under strain. Maritime transport has come under heavy pressure globally in recent months due to health restrictions and the recovery of the economy, which has boosted demand for goods. In May, the temporary closure of the Chinese port of Yantian (south) due to coronavirus resulted in weeks of delays in shipping goods.