In the jointly issued briefing international law firm Stephenson Harwood and Wang Jing & Co point out that in order to control the fast spread of the COVID-19, Chinese government swiftly locked down affected cities, extended the Chinese Lunar New Year Holiday and encouraged people to work from home. Large public events were cancelled or postponed, with all schools, offices, factories, shopping malls and restaurants closed. All cross-province bus routes were taken out of service; only limited segments of urban public transport systems remained operational.
The production lines in China have virtually come to a standstill. This has a significant impact on the global supply chains.
In Hong Kong, the HKSAR Government has closed down most of its services and buildings. Most of the private sectors have followed the Government and encouraged their employees to work from home where possible. The disruption caused to Hong Kong business and supply chain management although beginning to stabilise, is similar to the disruption experienced in China.
