(Yicai Global) Dec. 14 -- At least 17 manufacturers in China’s eastern Zhejiang province have announced within the space of a week that they are suspending production because of new Covid-19 cases in the cities of Ningbo and Shaoxing.

The province, which is next to Shanghai, reported 156 domestically transmitted coronavirus cases from Dec. 11 to yesterday. There were 115 in Shaoxing, 26 in Ningbo, and 15 in Hangzhou, according to the local health authority.

Textile dyes maker Runtu said yesterday that all of its subsidiaries have gradually stopped producing dyes, auxiliaries, and chemical ingredients since Dec. 9. The products made up 95 percent of the firm’s revenue in the first three quarters of this year.

Mustang Battery, based in the Zhenhai district of Ningbo, released a statement the same day announcing the suspension of operations and that it expects some delays in production and deliveries. Despite the impact on this month’s revenue, the firm’s long-term development is still assured, it added.

Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Jingsheng Group said on the evening of Dec. 12 that its factory in the Shangyu district of Shaoxing has stopped production, but the temporary halt will not affect annual revenue.

Longsheng Group’s units have been preparing to suspend output since Dec. 9, the chemicals maker said on Dec. 10. In the first nine months of this year, almost 54 percent of its earnings came from making dyes, chemical intermediates, and water-reducing agents.

Edit: Futura Costaglione