Coronavirus: World’s largest latex glove maker shuts factories
Tuesday, 24 November 2020
The world's largest maker of latex gloves will shut more than half of its factories after almost 2,500 employees tested positive for coronavirus.
Malaysia's Top Glove will close down 28 plants in phases as it seeks to control the outbreak, authorities said.
The company has seen record profits this year as demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) surged around the world, reports the BBC.
But shares in Top Glove fell by 7.5 per cent on Tuesday after the announcement.
Malaysia's health ministry has reported a sharp rise in cases in areas where Top Glove factories and dormitories are located.
Nearly 5,800 workers have been screened so far with 2,453 testing positive, it said.
Top Glove operates 41 factories in Malaysia with many of its workers coming from Nepal and living in crowded dormitory complexes.
"All those who tested positive have been hospitalised and their close contacts have been quarantined to avoid infecting other workers," Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah told Reuters news agency.
It is unclear when the factory closures will begin.