Reports from China indicate that Huawei, Xiaomi, and major semiconductor manufacturers are keeping their employees employed despite the contagion risk.

According to Reuters, "some Chinese technology companies" are continuing to produce goods despite government orders to halt production. The idea is that factory operations are contributing to the spread of the virus, and that stopping the assembly line will slow down the microscopic organisms.

Most significantly, Huawei announced today that the company has resumed production of everything from large industrial equipment for building 5G networks to consumer electronics and cell phones. According to the company, "operations are running as normal" thanks to a special permit issued by Chinese authorities to circumvent a production ban on building 5G communications at a new special coronavirus hospital in Wuhan.

Semiconductor companies continue to produce all kinds of chips, from memory to CPUs. Among them are Wuhan-based Changjiang Memory Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation. The former said that "production and operations at YMTC are proceeding in a normal and orderly manner" and that several "isolation and partition" measures are in place to protect the "safety" of employees.

Despite these extraordinary measures, however, the supply chain remains affected by the virus.

Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has indicated that Apple will cut production by 10% due to the virus. Last week, veteran industry analyst Patrick Moorhead said the coronavirus threatens iPhone 9 production and the electronics industry as a whole: "I can't imagine a scenario where the supply chain is not disrupted."

The Wuhan region is not only a major steel producer, but is also considered "an important hub in the middle of China," with the Yangtze River crossing it and three railroad stations and an airport. To illustrate its importance, 230 of the Fortune 500 companies have invested in the region. According to a Reuters report, the Chinese government's ban is affecting cities outside of Wuhan. And things do not appear to be getting better, as the epidemic and reported deaths continue to spread across mainland China.

The virus is also affecting the marketing efforts of Chinese companies. Not only have Apple and other companies closed their stores across China, but companies such as Xiaomi and Blackshark, a manufacturer specializing in gaming phones, have canceled live press release events for the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Blackshark 3. Instead, they plan to move these events to cyberspace in response to the virus scare. Of course, they will continue to manufacture and sell the phones.