Samsung confirms one of its South Korean workers as Coronavirus positive

The recent outbreak of Coronavirus in China continues to toll on businesses from across the world. Confirmed cases of the virus are starting to appear in different regions of the world. In a recent development, Samsung Electronics declared on Saturday that one of its workers at its Gumi (southeastern city) factory has been identified as Coronavirus positive. In an attempt to contain the further spread of the virus, Samsung authorized an immediate shutdown of the entire production house till Monday.

Samsung Placed A Number Of Other Employees At The Same Factory In Quarantine

Following the closure of the floor at which the infected worker served, the world’s top smartphone manufacturer stated that a number of other employees who are suspected to have come in contact with the victim have also been placed in quarantine. Efficient measures are being taken to ensure that the quarantined workers can be thoroughly assessed and tested for Coronavirus.

Samsung’s production house in Gumi has a limited contribution to its global smartphone manufacturing capacity. The factory is primarily dedicated to the production of its high-end or flagship smartphones and that too for the domestic market only. Samsung undertakes the majority of production in India and Vietnam.  

Gumi is located near Daegu that houses a church (Shincheonji) that was previously reported to have played a central role in the spread of Coronavirus in South Korea. As per the data on Saturday, victims of Coronavirus in South Korea were announced to have doubled in the short period of time to 433 in total.  

Samsung Expresses Confidence In No Effect To Other Display/Chips Factories In South Korea

On a positive note, however, Samsung expressed confidence that in other parts of the country, its operations involving the production of display and chips at the factories are unlikely to be affected by the recent incident.

Samsung had closed the last week at 59,100 KRW on Friday. Owing to Saturday’s announcement, it is currently exchanging hands at 57,000 KRW in the stock market that translates to a 3.5% decline. Nonetheless, the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer had started the new year at 55,200 KRW and is, therefore, still trading around 3.5% up in 2020 so far.

Samsung’s performance in 2019, however, remained largely upbeat with an annual gain of just under 50%. Share prices were seen trading at 38,000 KRW in January 2019 while the stock closed the year at a much higher 55,800 KRW in December.