(Yicai Global) Feb. 22 -- Robert Bosch said the German engineering giant is working to resume production at its plant in the Chinese city of Suzhou after an employee tested positive for Covid-19.

The results of the latest round of Covid tests of staff at the factory all came back negative, Bosch China told Yicai Global. The company is working with the authorities to resume production within the rules set out to prevent and control the virus, it added, noting that some office employees will work from home to reduce the impact on customers.

A worker at Bosch Automotive Products Suzhou was confirmed as an asymptomatic Covid-19 case on Feb. 18, local authorities said. The person and their close contacts were transferred to a designated medical facility for quarantine and observation, while the research and development building where they worked has been cordoned off.

A new Covid-19 outbreak has emerged in Suzhou, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, since Feb. 10. The city reported 97 confirmed cases and 25 asymptomatic infections as of 3 p.m. yesterday.

Many cases are concentrated in Suzhou Industrial Park, where manufacturing industries are clustered. United Microelectronics, Samsung Electronics, Li Auto, and King Long Technology Suzhou, a unit of chip packaging and testing giant King Yuan Electronics, were all affected by the outbreak.

Founded in 1999, Bosch Automotive Products Suzhou is one of Bosch’s largest R&D and manufacturing centers worldwide, with divisions for auto electronics, chassis control, auto multimedia, and equipment manufacturing. It had over 9,500 employees as of the end of 2020, including 2,100 R&D personnel, according to its website.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione