China’s biggest iPhone maker says claims of Covid deaths at factory are untrue

China’s biggest iPhone manufacturer has denied claims of deaths due to Covid at one of its factories, describing a video on social media making the allegation as maliciously edited.

Foxconn increased bonuses in an attempt to keep workers at its plant in Zhengzhou after a Covid outbreak prompted employees to flee the factory, with some attempting long journeys home on foot.

A video posted on social media this week claimed eight people in the factory, where workers are housed in dormitories, had died following the outbreak. Foxconn said the video was fake.

When some PCR tests within the factory returned positive results, workers began to panic as they feared they would be quarantined along with people infected with Covid

“There are no deaths at our facility. We believe this is a maliciously edited video. The group is making every effort to ensure the production safety, and health and safety of colleagues,” the company said in a statement.

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Shares in Chinese companies rose on Tuesday following reports that the Communist Party had established a committee to look at options for reopening the country, which is pursuing a strict zero-Covid policy. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said he was not aware of any such body being formed, however.

[ China’s Xi defends zero Covid policy and calls for strengthening military ]

Although the zero-Covid policy has seen entire cities locked down for weeks at a time, manufacturers such as Foxconn have been able to continue production by operating a “closed loop” where employees work, eat and sleep on-site and are effectively quarantined behind wire fences. The Zhengzhou factory, which employs more than 200,000 people, went into a closed loop three weeks ago following a Covid outbreak in the city.

When some PCR tests within the factory returned positive results, workers began to panic as they feared they would be quarantined along with people infected with Covid. Pictures on social media showed some employees climbing over fences to leave the plant while others dragged suitcases as they began to walk home, sometimes up to 100km away.

Last weekend, local authorities provided bus services to collect workers who wanted to go home and Foxconn said it was working to facilitate such journeys. But the company sought to persuade employees to stay at work during one of the busiest periods of the year for the manufacturer, increasing the bonuses it offers.

Chinese social media outlets have carried numerous accounts of conditions within the factory, including claims that workers had to continue working even if someone in their workshop had tested positive for Covid. Videos showed poor conditions in dormitories with rubbish piling up in corridors.

The Shanghai Disney Resort closed suddenly on Monday following a reported Covid case, locking all visitors inside until they had been tested and the result returned negative. The mini-lockdown was prompted by the news that a woman who visited the resort a few days earlier had tested positive for Covid.

People who have visited the resort in recent days were told on Tuesday to stay at home and to keep their children out of school for the next three days.