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KUALA LUMPUR: Top Glove Corp, the world’s largest manufacturer of medical-grade gloves, said Saturday that some employees at four factories had recently tested positive for COVID-19.
While the company did not say how many tested positive or when it received test results, the news comes after more than 5,000 foreign workers at Top Glove were infected late last year and one died in what became the largest. Malaysia coronavirus cluster.
All employees at one of the four facilities have undergone screening and those affected are under quarantine, while a mass screening will take place at another on Saturday, the company said in a statement.
Contact tracing and selection of close contacts is underway at the other two factories, he added.
The company said its board of directors was closely monitoring the situation and having discussions with the management team on a daily basis.
“We wish to assure our shareholders that we are doing everything possible to ensure the continued safety and well-being of our employees and to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” he said.
Last week, the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, chided the manufacturer’s board of directors for flagrantly failing to protect its workers from the virus, voting against the re-election of some directors. But Top Glove defended their board.
A unit of BlackRock, BlackRock Institutional Trust Co, is Top Glove’s 10th largest shareholder, with 1.07% of its shares.
Reuters reported last month that Top Glove fired a whistleblower who expressed concern about the company’s lack of COVID-19 mitigation efforts. The workers have also told Reuters they lived in crowded dormitories.
The company has recognized that more needs to be done to raise the level of well-being of its employees and is committed to rectifying deficiencies.
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