(Yicai Global) Jan. 11 -- The world's biggest iPhone manufacturing hub is operating normally despite the new Covid-19 outbreak in central China's Henan province amid Apple's peak production season, according to Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn.

The Zhengzhou production lines are unaffected by the pandemic, a spokesperson of the Taiwan-based contract manufacturer said to Yicai Global.

But that might not be the case for long. "There will soon be an impact of disrupted supply chains if the pandemic continues," said a market insider. "Handset factories have inventories of spare parts and other devices that can last from two to eight weeks, enough to provide a short-term buffer against the Covid-19 outbreak.

The central province has detected some new cases amid China's zero tolerance for Covid-19 and mass testing. Since Dec. 31, Henan province has reported 345 Covid-19 cases as of yesterday.

Many employees at Foxconn's production facilities in Zhengzhou have already been tested for Covid-19 three times as of Jan. 8, according to a video clip from the site.

The iPhone assembler is hiring after observing impressive sales figures. Foxconn’s plants are recruiting hourly and gig employees, offering them CNY26 or CNY27 (USD4) per hour, Yicai Global learned from job platforms. If the employees work full-time 55 days out of 90 days, they will receive a bonus of CNY10,000 (USD1,570).

Chinese consumers have embraced Apple's latest iPhone series. Shipments of iPhone 13 reached 2.7 million units in the country last November, ranking as No. 1 among all handset brands for the second straight month, according to market research institute Cinno Research.

The pandemic does affect workers. Apple China has nearly 10,000 employees under direct management but millions of people in China work in the California-headquartered company's supply chain indirectly. A vast majority of assembly line workers are not allowed to travel due to Covid-19 outbreaks, according to the above-mentioned insider.

The business is important for the province. Foxconn’s plants in Zhengzhou have more than 90 production lines with about 350,000 workers. The company's volume of foreign trade made up almost 68 percent of all in Henan province in 2015, up from the nearly 29 percent share in 2011. The firm's iPhone project was established in the province in the second half of 2011.

Editor: Zhang Yushuo, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi