Hyundai shuts factory in South Korea after worker tests positive for coronavirus

Hyundai has decided to suspend the activities at one of its factories in South Korea’s southeastern city of Ulsan after a worker tested positive for the new coronavirus. According to reports, the carmaker announced the suspension of production on February 28. As a result of the closure, the shares of the carmaker have reportedly dropped more than 5 per cent.

South Korean companies severely hit

As per reports, this latest closure of the factory in South Korea comes just as Hyundai was gradually resuming production at local plants in the wake of the virus outbreaks. South Korea officially has the most coronavirus infected cases outside mainland China. The coronavirus outbreak has severely affected normal operation in companies like Hyundai and Samsung.

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The total number of infected cases in South Korea stands at 2,022, with over 200 new cases reported on February 28. According to reports, Hyundai released a statement where they stated that the workers who had come in contact or worked closely with the infected individual are currently undergoing self-quarantine and will also be tested for coronavirus.

The company's statement also claimed that the factory where the infected worker was working will undergo disinfection before being re-opened. The factory is located in Ulsan which is less than an hour from the epicentre of the outbreak in Korea, Daegu city. As per reports, Hyundai has five car factories in Ulsan, all five factories have an annual production capacity of 1.4 million vehicles or nearly 30% of Hyundai’s global production. It also employs 34,000 people in Ulsan. The factory that was shut down specialised in producing sport utility vehicles such as Palisade, Tucson, Santa Fe and Genesis GV80.

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The epicentre of the virus in Korea

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 90 per cent of the confirmed virus cases are in Daegu and in the neighbouring province of North Gyeongsang. While there were more than 200 new cases reported on Friday, there were no further deaths which kept the death toll in South Korea to 13.