Foxconn to resume iPhone assembly on Feb. 10, quarantine workers

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.’s Foxconn plans to resume iPhone assembly along with a quarantine of up to two weeks for any employee that returns to work at its main iPhone-making base, a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus.

The number of confirmed deaths from China’s coronavirus outbreak rose to at least 490, after the authorities in Hubei province today reported 65 new fatalities. The report also showed an increase in confirmed infections, with 3,156 new cases, bringing the total in the province to 16,678. China’s total of confirmed infections now exceeds 24,324, based on numbers previously issued by government.

In Wuhan, Hubei’s capital city, the epicenter of the virus, 362 people have now died from the virus. New confirmed cases in Wuhan spiked to 1,967 on Tuesday, up from 1,242 on Monday.

Foxconn plans to officially resume iPhone assembly on February 10th after an extended Lunar New Year break intended to combat the viral outbreak.

Debby Wu for Bloomberg News:

Hon Hai said in a statement Wednesday that workers returning from outside Henan province, site of its main factory in Zhengzhou, will be sequestered for 14 days.

Any staff reporting to work who reside within the province itself will be isolated for 7 days, the company added.

MacDailyNews Take: Seems prudent. It’s good to see that Foxconn plans to resume iPhone assembly soon. Hopefully, everything goes well in Zhengzhou!