China expands lockdowns as COVID-19 cases hit daily record

China expands lockdowns as COVID-19 cases hit daily record

Following violent protests at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory, China is expanding lockdowns, including eight districts of Zhengzhou as its number of COVID-19 cases hit a daily record.

People in eight districts of Zhengzhou, home to 6.6 million people, were ordered to stay at home for five days starting Thursday, except to buy food or seek medical treatment. The city government declared a “war of annihilation” against the virus, ordering daily mass testing.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Zhengzhou police clashed with workers protesting a pay dispute at Apple’s largest iPhone factory. According to the National Health Commission, the number of new cases reported in China in the last 24 hours was 31,444. This is the highest daily figure since the coronavirus was discovered in late 2019 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

The number of reported cases per day is steadily increasing. Authorities reported the first COVID-19 deaths in China in six months this week, bringing the total to 5,232.