Workers assembling Apple’s iPhone 14 have left their workplace in northern China to escape the COVID-19 borders, after several coworkers were placed in quarantine as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Videos of people who are Foxconn employees jumping over fences and walking down a road carrying their property are doing the rounds on Chinese social media platforms.
One of the largest facilities in China assembling accessories for Apple, including its most recent iPhone 14 handsets, is the Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou, Henan province, with space for 350,000 people. Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Associated Press.
It is unknown how many workers now work at the Zhengzhou factory, how many have left, and how many have been affected by the COVID-19 restrictions at the factory. Earlier, the business disputed rumors that 20,000 workers at the plant had a COVID-19 infection.
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Cities have been placed on lockdown as a result of the outbreaks. Shanghai Disney Resort said it would remain closed for an extended period until October 31 to comply with epidemic prevention and control requirements in the wake of the most recent wave of infections.
The events reveal growing public resentment towards China’s “zero-Covid” policy, in which the state attempts to contain the outbreak by requiring stringent testing, isolation and lockdown procedures whenever diseases are detected.
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Some footage allegedly showing employees running away from the building could not be verified. It was not clear whether the employees leaving the building were authorized to depart or whether they had fled. The park apologized for the inconvenience and promised to offer a refund or exchange to anyone negatively affected by its closure in an online message.
Food and beverages were left by volunteers from neighboring villages for Foxconn employees. One of these volunteers was assigned the responsibility of distributing the goods produced by his village in Xingyang County. He asked to be identified only by his surname, Zhang, out of respect for privacy.
(with AP input)
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