Together with our partner Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada, CAF has reached out to the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textile and Apparel (CCCT). They have provided us with the following update: 

As the situation outside Hubei Province ( the epicenter of the corona virus epidemic) is improving day by day, the country-wide daily newly confirmed coronavirus cases (not including Hubei Province) has decreased from the peak 731 cases on Feb. 4  to only 10 cases yesterday. The number of daily discharged patients has also exceeded the number of newly hospitalized patients. It seems that the worst has been over.

The government is now encouraging companies to re-open on the basis of adopting necessary preventive measures against contagion within workplaces.

Leading members of CCCT have started to resume production from February 10th, and more and more small and medium-sized factories started to reopen since last week. Many migrant workers though, still need time to return to their workplaces, due to the slow recovery of transportation and the requirement of self-isolation after traveling from most affected areas, but we expect the situation will be getting much better by the end of this month. 

China Textile City located in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, Asia's largest fabric distribution center holding 30,000 merchants, reopened on last Tuesday. According to local governments of major textile and garment manufacturing centers in China, the resumption rate of enterprises is around 90% (Zhejiang), and 70% (Jiangsu, Shandong, Guangdong,Fujian) as of now and manufacturing is expected to recover at a greater speed in the following weeks as transportation and logistics are also recovering.  

 (February 26, 2020)

CAF will continue to provide updates as this situation develops. Please don't hesitate to contact web@apparel.ca with any questions or concerns.