The price of rubber medical gloves may rise after thousands of workers at the world’s largest factory are infected with the Corona virus.
Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp has warned of a possible price hike, saying it expects some shortages but hopes to contain the situation within a month.
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Its factories and dormitories in the Klan, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, are fighting the largest concentration since the crisis began.
Authorities erected barbed wire fences in front of workers’ quarters to quarantine people.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Security said that 2,684 workers had tested positive, out of 5,795 tested so far.
Top Glove said that most people infected with the virus were not showing symptoms.
Affected factories will be closed in phases and represent about half of the company’s capacity.
The CEO denied that the gloves had been contaminated with COVID and said that no orders had yet to be canceled.
Glove giants in Klang wait for a coronavirus test
The company has 47 factories in Malaysia, Thailand, China and Vietnam
Lim Weichai said the production was fully automated, and the packing staff were wearing masks and protective equipment and had no direct contact with the products.
Malaysia makes nearly two-thirds of the world’s latex gloves, and the profits of the largest companies have soared during the pandemic.
Top Glove is the largest manufacturer of latex gloves in the world with 16000 factory workers in 47 factories in Malaysia, Thailand, China and Vietnam. Thirty-six of them produce gloves.
The trade group, the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association, denied that the outbreak had caused any disruptions in supplies.
“Make sure that new capacity is available to compensate for the temporary shortfall, and there will be no aggravating disturbance,” she said.
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