Glove manufacturer Kossan hit by Covid-19 infections

 

Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd today announced Covid-19 cases had been detected at its plants.

This comes after glove manufacturers Hartalega and Top Glove announced Covid-19 cases among its workers.

The cases at Kossan were detected through a Covid-19 screening exercise on more than 8,000 workers. The screening exercise is expected to be completed on Dec 18.

"We acknowledge that there have been detected cases at one of our plants, and we are working closely with the relevant authorities in the mitigating and containment efforts cohesively and collectively," a Kossan spokesperson told Malaysiakini.

The public-listed glove manufacturer declined to reveal how many cases were detected.

However, the firm confirmed that infected workers had been sent for treatment or observation at Ministry of Health facilities while their close contacts have been isolated at Kossan's facilities within its compounds.

Kossan is located at Jalan Sungai Putus in Klang.

Last week, the Ministry of Health announced the Sungai Putus cluster, which to date has 434 cases.

The ministry said the cluster was detected through workplace screening.

The spokesperson said the affected plant is undergoing disinfection and sanitation procedures.

"We would like to assure all interested parties that Kossan views the pandemic and public health situations seriously, and the health and safety of all our workers are of utmost concern.

"The voluntary corporate exercise of the screening programme which Kossan is undertaking is one of the methodologies in helping our country and government efforts in mitigating, containing and preventing the widespread of the pandemic," she said.

Yesterday, Hartalega announced 35 out of 8,772 workers screened tested positive for Covid-19.

The Teratai cluster, which is mostly made up of Top Glove workers, has 5,540 cases to date. It is the largest active cluster in Malaysia.

Top Glove yesterday also confirmed a 29-year-old Nepali security guard working at its facilities died after being infected with Covid-19.

The Health Ministry said the deceased arrived at the hospital at Stage 4 - an advanced stage of the infection.

The enhanced movement control order on Top Glove's workers' dormitories in Klang was lifted yesterday.

In November, glove maker Careplus suspended its production in Senawang after Covid-19 cases were detected among its workers. - Mkini