BEIJING: The city district of Zhengzhou, home to the world's largest iPhone factory, has announced the end of a week-long lockdown for areas other than a facility operated by Foxconn Technology Group.

According to a notice issued by the district, communities within the economic zone of Zhengzhou airport that have no positive Covid-19 cases for seven consecutive days can return to "normal life" by Wednesday afternoon.

However, several areas in the district remain "high risk" and the movement of residents is restricted. According to the notice, people can go out only if their polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test has come negative on the last day. The ban on eating out remains in place throughout the district, and students must continue to attend online classes.

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The area around Foxconn's 5.6 million square meter factory, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is designated as a "temporary containment zone to avoid spillover".

 Residents are not allowed to leave their residential complexes, and may be confined to their flats if a new case has been reported in the past week.

The district did not say how long these measures would be in effect. Foxconn did not respond to a comment request.
The local government is on high alert for a re-emergence of the virus as it attempts to adhere to Beijing's strict zero-Covid policy, which has contributed to a slowing domestic economy.

Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan province, is the latest city to be hit hardest by the COVID containment, but Foxconn's massive facility, which employed nearly 300,000 people at its peak, made it the world's largest technology company. a particular source of concern.

Apple announced on Sunday that the feature is "operating at a significantly reduced capacity," resulting in lower-than-expected shipments and longer delivery times for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models.

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Foxconn said on Monday it would lower its fourth-quarter forecast "due to the pandemic affecting some of [its] operations in Zhengzhou."

Foxconn is operating its Zhengzhou facility in a so-called closed-loop mode that keeps workers on-premises since the latest Covid-19 wave hit last month.

As the number of cases rose, workers complained about "terrible" living conditions, and thousands fled for fear of being infected.

Foxconn has increased incentives for workers to stay to try to stem the outflow. It offered to return to work on Monday for those who had given up a one-time 500 yuan (US$70) subsidy. It quadrupled its daily employee bonus to 400 yuan last week.

Foxconn has stepped up disinfection, added personnel to collect PCR samples, and provided other services as part of its heightened efforts to slow the spread of the virus. However, activists told the Post that the situation on the campus is still chaotic due to lack of quarantine places for those who have tested positive and close contacts.

They claim that the hostel management is also disorganized, with some employees being asked to make room for newcomers under quarantine as they did not show up to work for at least three days.

According to workers, medical care is one area that has improved. Traditional Chinese medicine is available. They claim that Lianhua Qingwen, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen, and the antiviral treatment azvudine are all given free of charge to those in quarantine and help reduce anxiety about getting sick.

The number of confirmed cases at the factory has not been reported by Foxconn or the local government.

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On Tuesday, health officials in Henan province confirmed 159 COVID-19 cases, all in Zhengzhou. The city was home to 884 out of 888 asymptomatic cases.