By Sam Boughedda
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone production in China is beginning to catch up despite the COVID-19 outbreaks in the country.
Apple shares have gained more than 3% on Thursday at the time of writing.
Despite COVID-19 cases surging in China recently, the country has started easing restrictions, dialing back its zero-COVID policy. While COVID-19-related headwinds are still hampering manufacturing of Apple's iPhone in China, the WSJ, citing analysts and people involved in the supply chain, stated that production is beginning to catch up to demand for the more-expensive Pro models.
With China lifting most of its restrictions, the report states the main issue for factories now is worker health, with at least tens of millions of people in the country believed to have caught the coronavirus.
However, some of those affected have continued to work as it is difficult to know who has the virus with widespread testing stopped.
The WSJ said its sources told them that while the situation is far from normal, it is at least better than during the Foxconn worker clashes in November.