Coronavirus Cases Surge Among Factory Workers in Post-Lockdown India

Coronavirus Cases Surge Among Factory Workers in Post-Lockdown India
A worker wearing a protective face mask cleans a machine inside an undergarment factory after it was re-opened after a weeks-long shutdown to slow the spread of (COVID-19), in Kolkata, India, on April 20, 2020. Rupak De Chowdhuri - RC288G9XHNLK/Reuters
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CHENNAI, India—When Bajirao Thengde voiced his fears about going to work after dozens of colleagues fell sick with coronavirus, his boss at a motorbike factory in western India said he should “learn to live with the virus.”

As India’s coronavirus cases exceeded one million last week, unions say similar spikes in infections in reopened factories are putting workers at risk—accusing companies of skimping on health and safety as they rush to get business back on track.