China extended its annual Lunar New Year holiday until Feb 2 and extended it citywide quarantine to 13 more cities in an unprecendented effort to restrict the movement of more than 60 million within China to control the spread of the novel coronavirus that has claimed 81 lives.
Holiday Extension
China extended the spring festival holiday, according to the official sites. The government has postponed school opening until Monday.
The shutdown
China extended its lockdowned to 13 more cities on Saturday. A total 15 cities namely Wuhan, Huanggang, Ezhou, Chibi, JIngzhou, Zhijiang, Qianjiang, Xiantao, Xianning, Huangshi, Dangyang, Enshi, Xiaogan, Jingmen and Shantou were fully or partially lockdown to control the spread of the deadly pneumonia-like virus. As part of the preventive measures, public transport as well as other means of transport restrictions have been adopted in many Chinese cities.
Impact on steel production
After the spread of the virus from its epicenter Wuhan in Hubei province, Guangdong province of China has reported several cases of coronavirus infection. Guangdong province is one of the largest steel hub state in China. Major steel companies in this region include Guangdong Huayu Steel, Shaoguan Iron and steel, GuanDong Heysteel, Baosteel. Health officials of Guangdong province have announced level 1 public health emergency and advised citizens not to leave their homes. Many companies have directed their employees to work from home after the spring holidays. Guangdong state government has confirmed 146 cases of coronavirus, which is the second highest number of confirmed cases in China.