Just days after reopening its production plant at Manesar, India’s largest automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki announced that one of its employees at the plant has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
A company spokesperson informed the media that the company is also looking at “a possibility of a second case” of infection at the plant but is ruling out the impact on business due to the development.
“One employee of the company’s Manesar plant tested positive on May 22, 2020 for COVID-19,” the spokesperson told PTI.
On the status of another employee possibly infected with the virus, the spokesperson said: “There may be a possibility of a second case of infection that has just been reported. More information is being sought.”
According to the spokesperson, the said employee had last attended the plant on May 15 with normal health after which his residence area came into a containment zone and he did not join work thereafter.
The district administration was informed about the employee who has since been admitted in the hospital and his condition is stable, he added.
Maruti Suzuki India said that it is providing all the necessary medical help and assistance to the employee as per guidelines issued by the government.
The automaker, in the confirmed case, has undertaken a contact tracing exercise and out of abundant caution, all employees who could have come in contact are advised to stay in home isolation, he said.
The spokesperson also informed that the company has in place a robust and carefully designed standard operating procedure (SOP) for maximum safety against infection spread at the workplace and transit, which goes well beyond compliance requirement.
In addition, there is also a COVID-19 Task Force that closely monitors adherence to the SOP in the company, the spokesperson added.
Maruti Suzuki recently highlighted the issue of manpower shortage at its factories due to the government imposed lockdowns and such a case of coronavirus transmission at its plant only adds to the automakers problems.
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