Covid outbreak throws Chinese factories and supply chains into chaos
新冠感染潮影响中国工业生产和供应链
‘Closed loop’ system to protect employees and production likely to be overwhelmed。
人员短缺危及生产线运转，卡车司机生病给供应链带来混乱，但也有人寄望当前这段短期混乱最终将让中国加速告别疫情。
The coronavirus sweeping across China is causing widespread business disruption as staffing shortages threaten to close down factory production lines and truck drivers fall ill, bringing chaos to supply chains.
席卷中国的新冠感染潮正在造成大面积商业中断，人员短缺危及工厂生产线运转，同时许多卡车司机生病，导致供应链陷入混乱。
The Omicron variant of the virus has begun to run rampant through several big cities since the sudden U-turn on president Xi Jinping’s former zero-Covid policy of containment earlier this month. The surge in infections is largest in the capital Beijing, where more than half the 22mn population is infected, according to some estimates.
自中国清零防疫政策在本月早些时候突然逆转以来，新冠病毒Omicron变种开始在几个大城市肆虐。北京的感染激增最为严重，根据一些估计，中国首都2200万人口中有一半以上已被感染。
Many office workers have begun to work from home but some factories are becoming thinly staffed as workers call in sick. Business owners and executives said this was causing increasing disruption to production and supply chains.
许多白领人士开始在家工作，但随着工人纷纷请病假，一些工厂的人手变得紧张。企业主和高管们表示，这对生产和供应链造成了越来越大的扰乱。
