The factory was closed in mid-October due to rising coronavirus cases in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province. That is in agreement with the policy followed to stop the spread of the Crown in China, which imposes strict measures on cities and companies to eliminate the transmission of the virus.
The iPhone factory is run by Foxconn, a Taiwan-based manufacturing giant with facilities in all of China.
When Corona’s cases began to be discovered at the factory, “Foxconn” isolated the iPhone factory from the outside world, which led to the detention of approximately 200,000 workers within the facility. He banned eating in the factory canteen, forced employees to walk long, winding routes from their dorms to reduce contact with others, and ordered daily coronavirus and temperature checks.
However, the reports provided by the employees who have been transferred in quarantine after testing positive to workers concerned about the crown. Some of them said they did not have enough food or did not have any at all, in one moment in lacking other needs.
As these stories spread over the social mediaother workers have decided to quit their jobs, as it is better for them to risk contracting the Corona virus and forcing them into quarantine rather than being confined in factories without food.
Two workers, who spoke to the New York Times in condition of anonymity, they feared retaliation from the company because hundreds of workers had left the factory.
Faced with the reality of the escape, many of those who left had no choice but to walk home, some for long distances, due to the restriction of transport movement under the Zhengzhou city measures to limit the outbreak of the Corona.
The “corona” approach zero”It was promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who last month won a third term as China’s leader. The policy, marked by severe blockades and quarantines, has led to the closure of entire cities due to a limited number of cases.
Zhengzhou officials on Wednesday ordered the closure of thearea around the facility for seven days, jeopardizing any further escape attempts. Describing the outbreak as “severe and complex,” the city reported 358 new cases on Wednesday, up from 24 on the same day a week earlier.
And “Reuters” reported that authorities closed the “Shanghai Disney Resort” on Monday after 10 cases of coronavirus infection broke out in Shanghai.
Apple, the manufacturer of the iPhone, did not respond to a request for comment from the New York Times. Foxconn called its pandemic measures a “protracted battle” and insisted that its workers receive three meals a day.
But employees accused Foxconn of sending workers who tested positive for the coronavirus in quarantine centers with key contacts, even when those individuals tested negative.
Meanwhile, other close contacts have been told to keep working and the New York Times noted that workers accuse the company of messing up the practice.
Liu Lin, 29, who works inside the factory, described what is happening inside as “an atmosphere of panic” as the factory has lost its grip on isolating essential contacts with crowned people.
Zhengzhou, with a population of 10 million, has helped improve China’s export-based economic model over the years. The city is known as iPhone City and accounts for about half of Apple’s global iPhone supply.
According to the New York Times, the seven-day shutdown announced Wednesday could damage Foxconn’s ability to ship iPhones from the factory. The Chinese economy as a whole is growing at the slowest pace in decades under politics “zero Covid “of the government.
As a sign of Foxconn’s concern about the flight, the airline began offering them $ 14 last week in more a day to keep working. On Tuesday, according to an official announcement, he raised the figure to $ 55 per day.
Initially, Foxconn would not allow its employees to leave the facility, but when public outcry escalated on social mediathe company has relinquished.
One worker told the New York Times that it was unclear whether those who left would keep their jobs or get paid for their work.
Foxconn employee Gao Mingjun’s daughter said her mother didn’t have the crown, but the factory put it in quarantine with a colleague who was sleeping in a bed above her. It was later confirmed that this colleague had coronavirus.
Her mother decided to walk 38 miles home to Xuchang, around 5:00 pm on Saturday, to exit the facility’s main gate with about 100 workers. Gao described her mother’s journey as “very long”, explaining that she “definitely won’t go back to Foxconn”.
“Reuters” indicated that China’s National Health Committee reported Thursday that the country recorded 3,372 new coronavirus cases on November 2, including 581 with symptoms and 2,791 without symptoms.
China recorded 2,928 new infections the previous day, of which 465 were symptomatic and 2,463 were asymptomatic. The country recorded no new deaths, so the toll remained at 5,226. As of November 2, Mainland China recorded 261,552 cases of Corona virus showing symptoms.
And Reuters reported in late October that cities in central China hastily prepared plans to isolate workers who returned to them from one of the huge factories that make “iPhone” phones for the “Foxconn” company, out of fear. that do cause an outbreak of the Covid-19 virus.
On Saturday, cities near Zhengzhou, including Liuzhou, Chan and others, urged Foxconn workers to report to local authorities before returning home.
Cities mentioned said in separate messages, on their accounts sui social mediato Foxconn workers in Zhengzhou that returning workers will travel “straight nonstop” in vehicles pre-equipped for their journey and they will enter in sanitary isolation on arrival.
“The government has agreed to resume dining in canteens to increase employee comfort and satisfaction,” Foxconn told Reuters on Sunday. in an answer via e-mail to requests.
Foxconn did not respond to Reuters questions about the number of infections detected at the Zhengzhou plant and the number of workers who had left.
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