Workers at the world’s largest iPhone factory, run through Foxconn Technology Group in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, took to social media for assistance under strict pandemic measures on campus that have been imposed since last week to curb a small outbreak of Covid-19. .
Workers shared text, images and videos of chaotic scenes and expressed anger on platforms such as microblogging Weibo and China’s edition of TikTok Douyin, with many fearing the cases went unreported, putting workers at the greatest threat of infections.
Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Technology Group, showed on Wednesday (Oct. 26) that a small number at the Zhengzhou campus were affected by Covid-19, but said production remained “relatively stable,” without elaborating.
The company said Thursday it had no further data to provide on the status of its Zhengzhou facility.
It’s unclear how many positive cases have been discovered on campus, which has been cordoned off to keep operations in a “production bubble,” or how many Foxconn employees are quarantined. 20 asymptomatic, all in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital.
The struggles experienced at Foxconn’s nearly 300,000-employee campus reflect the challenge for the Chinese government as it pursues its economic goals while maintaining zero tolerance for any Covid outbreak.
While the company is providing another 50 yuan (S$9. 70) based on per diems to staff reporting to work for the timely delivery of Apple’s new iPhone 14 series, staff have also been asked to abide by strict rules, and take consistent routes. between the bedrooms and their places of painting.
On the Internet, staff complained about poor food quality. Campus dining halls have been closed since last week and staff will have to bring canned food into their dormitories. The meals were not delivered on time, according to two employees at the venue, who showed the authenticity of some social media posts.
Another worker, who tested positive last week, quarantined in a residential construction about 3 km from the factory with 3 other people.
While one of them has had a fever for days, no one has gotten medical attention, according to the person, who checked through the Post as a Foxconn worker.
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A painter at the time said he was quarantined in his bedroom with his roommates for three days after it was known he was a close contact of a positive case. sixth of his team absent and quarantined.
In the images and videos he shared with the Post, you can see the garbage piled up on campus, where many lined up for Covid tests and food.
He said the company puts other uninfected people and close contacts on the same shuttles and dormitories, but staff can only “follow orders like a flock of sheep” because they are “afraid of being bitten. “
It also gave the impression that there were considerations about the spread of infections. A village in Jiaozuo, neighboring Zhengzhou, asked citizens to report any Foxconn workers who had “fled the campus,” according to a villager who spoke to the Post by phone but asked. anonymity.
On Weibo, Foxconn’s thematic page has been flooded with messages requesting assistance and attention. “The company allowed inflamed patients to stay in the bedroom with their roommates. . . How can the factory protect us like this?” one post reads.
“My wife is quarantined in her bedroom at Foxconn, but she and her roommate have had a fever for 3 days and there is no one to deal with the situation,” another user commented.
This article was first published in the South China Morning Post.