(Yicai Global) Feb. 15 -- An outbreak of Covid-19 in Hong Kong has severely impacted logistics services between the special administrative region and neighboring Shenzhen on the mainland as a number of long-distance drivers fall sick or are in quarantine.

Some 23 Hong Kong truck drivers tested positive between Feb. 3 and Feb. 13, and others are not able to work due to lockdowns in their residential areas, leading to a shortage of drivers, according to Yicai Global research.

The Hong Kong outbreak is spiraling. Some 2,071 new cases were confirmed on Feb. 13, bringing the total to 10,854 since the beginning of the month, according to the Center of Health Protection under the SAR’s Department of Health.

This has greatly affected business as 4PX Express is not able to dispatch drivers even though trucks are available, said Senior Vice President Li Senlin.

It is hard to hire new drivers in Hong Kong, despite offering salaries of up to HKD40,000 (USD5,126) a month, an employee at a shipping firm told Yicai Global. Most the company's drivers are between 50 and 60 years old. Young people are not interested in such work.

There are around 13,600 drivers who drive the Shenzhen-Hong Kong route. Hong Kong drivers who test negative are allowed to cross the border, but their movements are strictly monitored and curtailed.

Editor: Kim Taylor