Coronavirus: China plastic factory shut down after asymptomatic worker tested positive
- Guofeng Plastic in Hefei in Anhui province was forced to shut down on Sunday, with over 500 people tested as a result of the confirmed case
- The latest work-related case underscores the difficulty China is facing to bring economic activity back to normal amid the outbreak of the coronavirus
One of China’s largest plastic producers was forced to shut down production and quarantine and test hundreds of employees after a worker was confirmed to be carrying the coronavirus despite showing no symptoms, Chinese media reported on Tuesday.
The municipal government of the city of Hefei, the capital of Anhui province in central China, released a statement on its official website on Monday reporting the case of the 43-year-old male employee at Guofeng Plastic, which is located in the city’s national hi-tech industrial development zone.
A total of 267 people living and working in two districts of Hefei who had close contact with the worker were also quarantined and tested negative for the virus, the statement said. An additional 269 employees also tested negative for the coronavirus before they could return to work.
Shenzhen-listed Guofeng Plastic, which employs around 1,500 people, has an annual output of over 400,000 tonnes of plastic film, building materials and non-metallic materials for both domestic and overseas markets.
