In an effort to contain an outbreak of COVID-19, authorities in Shenzhen, a city in southern China, closed Huaqiangbei, the largest electronics market in the world, and suspended service at 24 subway stations on Monday.
Till September 2, three significant structures in the vast region, which is home to thousands of shops providing microchips, telephone parts, and other components to manufacturers, will be shuttered.
Local government officials acknowledged the shutdown to Reuters on Monday, but three employees claimed building managers had instructed them to work from home.
According to the official local media, subway services at 24 stations in the central districts of Futian and Luohu were also suspended.
In Futian, the seat of the city government, officials announced that cinemas, karaoke bars and parks would be closed and large public events cancelled until Sept 2.
COVID-19-related border closures have hurt Huaqiangbei, which before the pandemic bustled with foreign entrepreneurs looking to source components in China.
On Monday, the tech hub of nearly 18 million people reported nine symptomatic and two asymptomatic cases from testing the previous day.
COVID-19 testing has become a feature of daily life in the city, with most public spaces and offices needing proof of a test within 48 hours for entry, or within 24 hours in areas deemed high risk.
While the city has avoided a blanket closures since a week-long lockdown in March, residents of individual compounds have undergone week-long quarantines when positive cases have been detected.
On Monday morning Wanxia urban village, which provides cheap accommodation to thousands of low-wage workers like delivery drivers and labourers, was sealed off as a COVID-19 prevention measure, though no positive cases were reported there.
China reported 1,696 new COVID-19 infections on Aug. 28, of which 352 were symptomatic and 1,344 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday.