Dozens of people at the world’s largest iPhone factory in central China fled after a surge of Covid-19 halted production and saw operator Foxconn shut down the facility.
The Taiwanese tech giant’s factory in Zhengzhou was hit by a major outbreak, and the company says it evaluates workers and helps keep them in a closed loop.
Videos circulating on social media over the weekend gave the impression of showing Foxconn workers fleeing the company’s Zhengzhou campus and walking back to their hometown, in a bid to bypass Covid restrictions.
In one of the videos, other people lift suitcases while climbing a hill, while other people sit with their luggage on the side of a road while a wearer in a hazmat suit sprays them with what appears to be a disinfectant.
Local city governments have issued notices asking Foxconn staff to register with the government if they return home and complete several days of quarantine upon arrival.
The Taiwanese company, which makes iPhones for U. S. tech company Apple, said it “cooperates with the government to establish personnel and vehicles” for workers who wish to leave.
Foxconn said it faces a “protracted battle” to eliminate the covid-19 outbreak, but specified how many of the more than 200,000 workers are affected or isolated.
Henan province, where Zhengzhou is located, officially reported 42 new covid infections on Monday.
Foxconn has been accused of forcing sick painters to work and failing to provide timely medical care or food during the outbreak.
And China Labor Watch, a New York-based NGO, also accused the company of hiding the number of covid-19 infections among its workers and forcing others to continue working with health issues, prompting an internal message for both factory workers.
Foxconn insisted Sunday that it is “doing everything it can” to care for its workers.
“Absolutely no relaxation”
China is the latest primary economy committed to a zero-Covid strategy, persisting with instant lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines in an attempt to fight infections.
But fast-spreading virus variants have challenged this approach, as outbreaks have hit industries in recent months as viral restrictions disrupt factories and reduce customer spending.
Henan’s government vowed Monday to quell any epidemic, with provincial Communist Party leader Lou Yangsheng urging officials to “do everything imaginable to fight and win the annihilation war opposed to the epidemic. “
There will be “absolutely no break” in disease control work, especially in densely populated spaces such as schools, hospitals, factories and nursing homes for the elderly, Lou said, according to a post on a provincial government social media account.
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Officials “must resolutely triumph over mental relaxation, war weariness and wait and see, and fully fulfill the demands of the task in a strict, meticulous and practical manner,” Lou was quoted as saying, without referring to the scenario at hand. Foxconn.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been edited through NDTV and is published from a syndicated feed. )
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