Foxconn and other factories in China have implemented stringent measures to prevent the another viral outbreak in the country, according to an overview of the practices shared today by The Washington Post.
Pages from a manual issued by Foxconn that covers rules employees must follow. Image from The Washington Post.
Apple iPhone supplier Foxconn, for example, has organized workers into teams of 20 who stick together day and night for health tracking purposes. "The same group of employees work, travel, live, and eat together to ensure that employees' personal trajectories are fully traced," reads a notice from the Zhengzhou government where Foxconn is located.
A Foxconn employee told The Washington Post that workers are provided with a face mask and have their temperatures checked regularly, plus there are infrared cameras to check people for fevers as they walk by. Foxconn said that it is also using nucleic acid tests and chest x-rays when required, and it has produced 10 million surgical masks for employees.
At lunchtime, Foxconn workers eat at cafeteria tables separated from one another by tall dividers. Cafeteria seats even have QR codes that workers can scan so Foxconn has a record of who sat where and when for meals. In the dormitories where they sleep, employees leave their coats and bags in a designated spot for disinfection.
Foxconn and other Apple factories were shut down for much of February due to the outbreak, which has now largely resolved in China. China is mandating that employers check temperatures and provide face masks to employees, as well as submitting daily reports on workers' health statuses. Many businesses in the United States may need to take similar steps when stay at home orders around the country begin lifting.
Other companies in China have implemented similar measures, including preventing employees from leaving factories and going home in some cases, with additional details available in The Washington Post's full report.
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