China braces for wave of workers fleeing iPhone factory in Covid-hit Zhengzhou - The Guardian

Cities successful cardinal China person hastily drawn up plans to isolate migrant workers fleeing to their hometowns from the world’s largest iPhone factory, amid fears they volition dispersed a coronavirus outbreak from Zhengzhou wherever the Foxconn works is based.

The city, superior of cardinal Henan province, reported 167 locally transmitted Covid cases successful the 7 days to 29 October, up from 97 infections successful the erstwhile seven-day period.

Apple supplier Foxconn, headquartered successful Taiwan, presently has astir 200,000 workers astatine its Zhengzhou analyzable and has not disclosed the fig of infected workers, nor the fig who person left, but said connected Sunday that it would not halt them from departing.

Late connected Saturday, adjacent cities including Yuzhou, Changge and Qinyang urged Foxconn workers to study to section authorities earlier heading home.

Returning workers are to question “point-to-point” successful pre-arranged vehicles and are to beryllium quarantined connected arrival, they said successful abstracted letters connected their respective societal media accounts addressed to Zhengzhou Foxconn workers.

Under China’s ultra-strict zero-Covid policy, cities are mandated to enactment swiftly to quell immoderate outbreaks, with measures that could see full-scale lockdowns. On 19 October, Foxconn banned each eating successful astatine canteens and required workers to instrumentality their meals successful their dormitories.

“The authorities agreed to resume dine-in meals to amended the convenience and restitution of employees’ lives,” Foxconn said connected Sunday.

“At the aforesaid time, for immoderate employees who privation to instrumentality home, the [plant] is cooperating with the authorities to organise unit and vehicles to supply a point-to-point orderly instrumentality work for employees from today.”

Disruptions from China’s Covid policies to commerce and manufacture have intensified successful caller weeks arsenic cases multiplied.

Shanghai Disneyland said connected Saturday it would run astatine reduced capacity. On Wednesday, Universal Beijing Resort was suspended aft the sojourn of 1 infected individual.

“We are precise alert that nether the existent situation, it is simply a protracted battle,” Foxconn said. But the concern was gradually coming nether control, it added, saying Foxconn would coordinate back-up accumulation capableness with its different plants to trim immoderate imaginable impact.

Apple did not instantly reply to a petition for remark connected the Foxconn situation.

Photographs and videos circulating connected Chinese societal media since Saturday look to amusement Foxconn workers returning home, trekking crossed fields successful the time and on roads astatine night.

In a amusement of support, residents successful the vicinity near bottled h2o and provisions adjacent to roads with signs specified as: “For Foxconn workers returning home,” according to societal media posts.

“Some radical were walking amid wheat fields with their luggage, blankets and quilts,” wrote a idiosyncratic of WeChat successful a station astir the societal media images. “I couldn’t assistance but consciousness sad.”