Millions of people in China were put under tight restrictions on Wednesday as sporadic outbreaks of Covid-19 led to business closures and disruptions at the world’s biggest iPhone factory.
China is the only major economy in the world that still maintains a zero-covid strategy, applying sudden lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines to eradicate the virus from circulating within its territory.
The country, where signs of disagreement with this policy are beginning to appear, recorded this Wednesday (26) 1,241 new positive cases, most of them asymptomatic, according to the National Health Commission.
Among these cases is an outbreak at a factory in the city of Zhengzhou (center), which employs around 300,000 people and is known for being the world’s biggest producer of iPhones.
FoxConn Technology Group, which runs the factory, acknowledged the outbreak on Wednesday but said “operations and production are relatively stable”.
“Health and safety measures for employees are maintained,” the Taiwanese electronics producer said.
The company did not specify the number of employees affected, but said it was “small” and denied unsubstantiated internet rumors of tens of thousands of infections.
The cases also had consequences in Beijing, where the Universal Resort theme park announced it had “temporarily closed to enforce epidemic control requirements”.
Chinese authorities are not open to easing anti-covid measures, despite the decrease in daily infections.
Japanese investment bank Nomura estimated this week that more than 200 million people were under some form of tightened restriction.
In the city of Xining (northwest), with 2.5 million inhabitants, residents complained on social media about the confinement orders.
“Xining is like Shanghai in April,” said one Weibo user, referring to the megalopolis’ long and rigorous confinement that has sparked isolated protests.
Now the situation has improved in this city, the country’s economic engine, where authorities began distributing an inhalable anti-covid vaccine on Wednesday.
The vaccine, produced by manufacturer CanSino Biologics of Tianjin (northeast), was approved by local regulators in September and is being given as a booster to those already vaccinated.
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