South African workers freed from mask-making factory

Police in the South African city of Durban have freed 14 workers who had been trapped in a mask-making factory since Monday.

They also arrested the owner of the business. 

Local government minister Nomusa Dube-Ncube said that the workers had been subjected to “inhuman conditions” as they were “forced to manufacture hundreds of masks to meet the demand caused by the outbreak of coronavirus”.

Ms Dube-Ncube revealed that officials had been acting on a tip off from the public after its inspectors found that masks were selling for $44 each in the shops. 

South Africa is currently in its fourth day of a three-week lockdown as part of a national effort to slow down the spread of coronavirus. 

The country has confirmed over 1,100 cases of the disease - more than any other nation in Africa. So far two people have died after contracting Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. 

Photo: News24