98.2 pct of major industrial firms resume production in Hubei

Passengers queue to take metro line one in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 22, 2020./Xinhua

As of April 17, 98.2 percent of major industrial enterprises in central China's Hubei Province have resumed production, said local authorities on Thursday.

Hubei, with Wuhan as the epicenter of the coronavirus in China, was hit hard by the epidemic from late January to February. China announced a lockdown of the province in late January, causing disruption to the normal business operation and production.

Transportation restriction had been lifted in cities in Hubei except for Wuhan since March 25, thanks to the positive progress made in epidemic control and prevention. Wuhan, the capital, was also back to normal on April 8.

Meanwhile, 93 percent of employees have returned to their posts in the province's major industrial firms, said Meng Chunlin, deputy director of the provincial department of economy and information technology, at a press briefing in Hubei.

Meng said that currently obstacles to business operation still exist, such as capital, costs, orders and supply chains, especially for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, whose resumption rate is less than 80 percent.