Top Glove screens more workers after some test positive

Kuala Lumpur

TOP Glove Corp, the world's biggest rubber glove maker, is screening more workers after some of them at four of its Malaysian factories tested positive for the coronavirus.

The company is "closely monitoring" the situation and is in constant discussion with the management team on development and updates of all its employees involved, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

The Malaysian manufacturer is seeking to avoid a repeat of last year when authorities temporarily closed 28 of its factories after more than 4,000 workers tested positive for the virus. The government in December ended a 28-day lockdown on Top Glove's worker dormitories after infections there declined.

All employees at its factory in Port Dickson were screened on Jan 14, and the affected employees are currently under quarantine, the company said. Top Glove is arranging for employees at its factory in Klang to undergo mass screening, and contract tracing and testing are being done at two facilities in Kulim and Shah Alam.

Malaysia has struggled to contain a fresh wave of infections fuelled by a local election in September. The nation's king declared a state of emergency on Jan 12, while the government has placed most of the country under some form of lockdown for two weeks.

Malaysia reported a record 4,029 daily cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections to 155,095, according to the health ministry. The country also recorded eight new fatalities, raising the death toll to 594. BLOOMBERG