WORKERS have reportedly broken out of a huge iPhone factory in China after draconian Covid measures forced staff into isolation.
Footage showed at least ten workers jumping over the fence outside The Foxconn Technology Group’s main factory in Zhengzhou amid reports of “chaotic infighting.”
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The plant was first forced into a “closed loop system” after just a handful of Covid cases emerged in the region this month.
And it’s meant many of the 200,000 employees have been barred from leaving the manufacturing campus ever since.
However, in recent days the situation has appeared to worsen amid reports that employees are fighting over food as scuffles have ensued over rations.
Now, workers have taken it upon themselves to flee the camp with conditions described as nothing but “chaos,” report the BBC.
In one clip shared on Chinese social media, workers were allegedly seen escaping from the grounds by vaulting fences and perimeters.
Insiders suggest many have begun lengthy walks back to their hometowns in a bid to avoid being caught on public transport.
In some cases, locals were captured carrying suitcases up hills alongside the freeway as they made a desperate bid for freedom.
While others were shown stranded on public highways as officials in hazmat suits showered downs the streets.
Workers have claimed the area surrounding the factor has been locked down with most staff members being subjected to daily testing to try and contain the spread.
This was despite claims made by Taiwan-based company on Sunday that it would not stop workers from leaving.
However, a 22-year-old worker – who allegedly “escaped” by jumping over a fence – described how the situation in the factory’s dormitories had descended into “chaos”, report the Financial Times.
Only last week, it was reported that cafeterias at the site had been closed and those with Covid or too afraid to leave their dormitories were being handed basics such as bread and instant noodles.
As a result, scuffles then erupted between employees over food, with only workers on the production lines given meal boxes, insiders suggested.
Some footage shared on Twitter later appeared to show fed-up workers standing at windows shouting while people in hazmat suits can be seen on the ground below.
While another clip, reportedly shot at the site, showed people frantically grabbing boxes and rushing to get away with them amid unverified claims no food was allowed to enter the site for three days.
At the time Foxconn, Apple’s main manufacturer, described the outbreak as “small” and claimed production between October and December would be unaffected.
The Taiwanese company said operations were “relatively stable” and that the needs of employees including “material supply and psychological comfort” had been met, reports the New York Times.
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It’s a crucial time for the factory – in 2021 about a third of £165billion in iPhone sales happened between the final quarter of the year, according to Apple.
It comes as data released to The Sun Online from economic analysis firm Nomura shows 208million people are currently living under some level of lockdown in China.
Some 28 cities – including the virus’s ground zero Wuhan – are now under a wave of crippling new measures.
It is believed two highly contagious subvariant of Omicron – BF.7 and BA.5.1.7 – are responsible for the recent spike in cases.
China officials have described the variants as “highly contagious” as they can also infect people who had been previously immune.
Beijing is taking a no-tolerance approach to the virus – enforcing the new rules after just 20 to 25 new infections a day this week.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping – who was this week made “Emperor for Life” – is continuing to roll out what has been dubbed as the “world’s strictest lockdown”.
Cops wearing hazmat suits and wielding machine guns have been brutally enforcing the rules.
Quarantine camps, food shortages. cops seizing people’s homes, tags on Covid patients, and drones policing the streets have all been seen across China.
China’s draconian response to the virus has raised the spectre of a return to the potential for rising cases around the world as we head into the winter months.
But the West has rolled out much more effective vaccination programs, making countries such as Britain better equipped to deal with any spikes in infections.
China appears to be pursuing a national policy of self-isolation as the Communist Party have made Covid Zero its flagship plan.
Xi doubled down on the policy in a recent speech – and vowed all measures are due to stay for the foreseeable future.
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