Shocking video shows China MacBook plant workers fleeing COVID restrictions, clashes with guards

A new shocking video has revealed scenes of workers at Apple supplier Quanta fleeing the Shanghai campus they have been kept on, fighting with guards and trying to escape COVID restrictions.

As reported by RFA_Chinese on Twitter:

[Suspected of dissatisfaction with "closed-loop production" epidemic prevention is too strict] [Quanta's Shanghai plant was shocked to hear that employees "rioted"] Shanghai Dafeng Electronics, a subsidiary of Shanghai Quanta, which has just partially resumed work, experienced an employee "riot" on the evening of Thursday (5th). As seen in the video, hundreds of young employees did not obey the command, jumped over the gate and ran away, and rushed out of the blockade to clash with the guards. It is reported that employees are dissatisfied with the epidemic prevention and control and want to go out to buy civilian materials.

Bloomberg says that the company has not offered comment but that Quanta employees confirmed the riot had taken place, one stating "that people are worried about further tightening because there are positive Covid cases on the campus."

Like many other factories the plant has been operating a "closed-loop" system whereby employees live and sleep on-site or in nearby accommodation with transport to the factory to minimize the spread of the virus. All contact with anyone outside of the loop, including family members, is prohibited.

According to UDN, the riot started when about a hundred employees jumped over the gate at the factory and ran away while on-route back to their dormitories. As the report notes, Quanta is the exclusive supplier of Apple's MacBooks and relies on Apple for about 50% of its revenue. An employee told Bloomberg people were "getting tired and frustrated under the controls," but the report further notes that operations had returned to normal by Friday morning.