Three Hyundai India Workers Test Positive For Coronavirus
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Three employees at Hyundai Motor Co’s Indian plant have tested positive for the coronavirus, the company said on Sunday, days after the South Korean automaker resumed operations after a near two-month lockdown. Test results of sixteen more workers who possibly came into contact with the infected employees are expected over the next two days, a senior government official told Reuters.
“The state’s policy is to not let the industry stall,” said P Ponniah, the top bureaucrat in the Kancheepuram district of southern India where Hyundai’s plant is located. “We will ensure the areas inside the plant visited by the COVID positive employees are sanitized,” he said, adding that until such time workers would be barred from working in those areas.
Hyundai, which restarted operations at the plant on May 8, said the three employees started showing mild symptoms of coughs and colds in the first week of restarting and were tested positive. They are being treated, Hyundai’s India spokesman said in a statement.
“All the necessary measures are being taken for contact tracing, self-isolation, and complete sanitation,” he said, adding the well-being of employees was a priority.
The cases at Hyundai, India’s second-largest carmaker by market share, come as bigger rival Maruti Suzuki India said late on Saturday that one employee at its plant in the northern city of Manesar tested positive and there may be the possibility of a second case.
The cases expose the risks and challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government faces in restarting automobile production in an effort to kickstart the economy after a near two-month lockdown to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Questions & Answers
Q.What measures is the Kancheepuram district government taking to manage the situation at Hyundai's plant?
What measures is the Kancheepuram district government taking to manage the situation at Hyundai's plant?
The top bureaucrat stated that areas inside the plant visited by the COVID positive employees will be sanitised. Workers will be barred from those specific areas until the sanitisation process is complete.
Q.When did the three affected employees at Hyundai's plant begin to show symptoms of illness?
When did the three affected employees at Hyundai's plant begin to show symptoms of illness?
The three employees started exhibiting mild symptoms of coughs and colds during the first week after operations resumed. They were subsequently tested and confirmed positive for the coronavirus.
Q.What is Hyundai's current approach regarding the infected workers and the plant environment?
What is Hyundai's current approach regarding the infected workers and the plant environment?
Hyundai is treating the infected employees and has confirmed that all necessary measures are being taken for contact tracing, self-isolation, and complete sanitation within the plant to ensure employee well-being.
Q.Have any other major carmakers in India also reported employees testing positive for coronavirus?
Have any other major carmakers in India also reported employees testing positive for coronavirus?
Yes, Hyundai's bigger rival, Maruti Suzuki India, reported that one employee at its plant in Manesar tested positive. There was also a possibility of a second case at their facility.