China has reported a record spike in coronavirus cases and imposed a lockdown in the city of Zhengzhou after violent protests at the country’s largest iPhone factory. As the health authority announced on Thursday, 31,444 new infections were recorded nationwide on Wednesday – more than at any time since the pandemic began almost three years ago. But compared to China’s massive population of 1.4 billion, that number is still small.
China is the last major economy to have a very strict zero-Covid policy. Even small corona outbreaks can lead to lockdowns, even entire cities and business closures, which puts a massive strain on the economy and people’s everyday lives.
On Wednesday, workers at the iPhone factory in central China’s Zhengzhou took to the streets to protest the tough corona restrictions and poor pay. Videos on the online services Weibo and Twitter, verified by AFP, showed hundreds of workers demonstrating at the Apple supplier Foxconn factory.
Foxconn spoke of “violence” in the factory and apologized on Thursday for a “technical error” in the payroll computer system. In the future, Foxconn will ensure “that the actual payment corresponds to that agreed”.
Authorities in Zhenghzhou imposed a lockdown in several districts on Thursday. For the time being, residents of the city center are only allowed to leave the area with a negative corona test and official permission. You are advised to only leave the house in urgent cases.
In eight districts, residents must also be tested for the corona virus every day for five days.
The factory in Zhengzhou is an entire industrial complex, called “iPhone City”, where around 200,000 people work. Most are housed on-site, in large dormitories. 600,000 people were affected by a lockdown around the Foxconn site that was imposed in early November. More than six million people are affected by the new lockdown, which is to apply for five days from Friday – around half of Zhengzhou’s residents.
The Chinese authorities had recorded the previous high of 29,390 new infections in mid-April when the economic metropolis of Shanghai was in lockdown.