Beijing plunged back into ‘world’s strictest lockdown’ as Covid soars & China crushes dissent after iPhone factory riots

CHINA has ordered several cities including Beijing back into lockdown, state media has reported. The move comes after workers at the world’s biggest iPhone factory battled police over pay and lockdown conditions. The city of Zhengzhou has seen fighting at a huge iPhone factory China has reported record high infections and in response has imposed restrictions as it continues to battle the virus. The state owned CGTN network reports that cities including Beijing are going back into lockdown. Schools, restaurants, gyms, beauty salons, and other facilities have been closed this week, says CGTN. Several cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing have tightened Covid restrictions as cases have climbed. READ MORE ON CHINA DREAM BEAM China to build power plant in space 'by 2028' – and send energy back to Earth HUMILIATION Chinese woman forced to kneel & hands tied by brutal Covid lockdown enforcers The capital now requires a negative PCR test result within 48 hours for those seeking to enter public places such as shopping malls, hotels and government buildings. The resurgence of infections comes nearly three years after the pandemic emerged in the central city of Wuhan. The curbs are taking a toll on locked-down residents as well as output at factories They include the world’s biggest iPhone plant, which has been rocked by clashes between workers and security personnel in a rare show of dissent. Hundreds of workers took to the streets around the vast factory in Zhengzhou, confronting hazmat-clad personnel wielding batons in a rare display of public anger in China. In the wake of the unrest, Zhengzhou authorities ordered mass testing and an effective lockdown for several districts in the central Chinese city starting Friday. City centre residents cannot leave the area unless they have a negative Covid test and permission from local authorities, and are advised not to leave their homes “unless necessary”. The restrictions will affect more than six million people but do not cover the iPhone factory, where workers have already been under Covid restrictions for weeks.