COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns in Shenzhen and Hong Kong delay some projects

This may read like January or February 2020 headlines with disruption to shipping and manufacturing in China due to a “new coronavirus”, but it’s happening again, particularly in Hong Kong and Shenzhen where COVID-19 case numbers have jumped and the governments have implemented strict measures to attempt to contain it.

Since Shenzhen is a hub of electronics manufacturing and Hong Kong is often the gateway to those goods, we’ve received several reports of disruption and delayed projects. First, from Source Parts saying the Popcorn Computer will be further delayed in parts due to the COVID situation in Shenzhen:

…Within a short period of time after cases suddenly began to rise, we noticed that more apartment complexes were undergoing mandatory lockdown. We started to stock up early on essentials including food and water. One day, the two nearby food markets we frequent were fully stocked in the morning and empty in the afternoon. The next day both of the communities where each market is located were placed under a lockdown. This meant that one could enter the community but not leave. We tried ordering food via a delivery service that normally arrives within 30 minutes but instead were notified that the deliveries would arrive within 48 hours. Almost everything was unavailable.

Recently, the food delivery service has returned to semi-normal delivery times but the stores still have some shortages. Many areas are still under lockdown but we are hopeful the situation will resolve within the next few weeks. We have not let this situation lead to wasted time in terms of gearing up for production. […] We have also been in constant communication with our manufacturing partners regarding their visitation policy during this outbreak and about how assembly will take place if our team cannot physically be in the factory.

It’s unclear from the update to what extent manufacturing is impacted, but we’ve also received another update from the Hackboard team about the Hackboard 2‘s PVT (production validation test) being delayed:

We have not been able to start the production validation test (PVT) yet because of several factory closures due to Coronavirus in China. We are waiting to start the PVT, Covid restrictions permitting. Once we’ve successfully completed the PVT, we will be ready to go into full production and we’ll be shipping units shortly after that.

This is something we will monitor closely and keep you up to date on. Things in Hong Kong are actually quite bad at the moment and it’s hard to predict if there will be a ripple effect to mainland China.

I’m sure we’ll get more reports soon, but I also ask a contact in Shenzhen who said things are not that bad for now, with just some blocks locks, and they are still working as usual (in Bao’an district), also mentioning most cases are from Hong Kong. Let’s hope the situation gets resolved soon, but just don’t be surprised in case of package delays or further supply shortage.

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