Malaysian Senior Minister for Security cluster Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the closure of 28 Top Glove factories on Monday, November 23 after recording 2,524 cluster cases.
"I am made to understand that today alone, there are 1,067 positive cases," said Yaakob in a news conference as reported by The Straits Time. The minister added that the decision was made upon the advice of the health ministry. The closure of 28 Top Glove factories located in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia would allow workers of the world's largest glove supplier to be tested and quarantined.
Top Glove has 2,524 confirmed COVID-19 cases
According to Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah, among the 5,767 people linked to the Malaysian glove maker cluster who undergone testing, 2,524 turned out to be positive to COVID-19.
Out of these 2,524 cases, 2,453 patients are Top Glove employees while 71 are among their close contacts. Meanwhile, around 95% or 2,360 of those infected are non-Malaysian citizens while only 164 are Malaysians.
Top Glove's staff dormitories in Klang as well as its surrounding areas are currently under strict lockdown. The National Security Council applied the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO), which began on midnight of November 17 until November 30, after having 215 coronavirus cases confirmed on November 15.
According to Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham, around 5,900 workers are affected by the EMCO lockdown on Top Glove's dormitories. This is less than half of the total employment in the Malaysian company, which has around 13,000 staff as the other workers live outside of the lockdown area.
During the 14 day-EMCO lockdown, no one is allowed to enter or leave the lockdown area. Food and medicine supplies are being distributed to households within the lockdown area while health officials continue to conduct intense health screenings.
Meanwhile, Malaysia already had a total of 58,847 COVID-19 cases as of November 24. It recorded a new daily high on November 23 with 1,884 new COVID-19 cases with two new deaths. Among all Malaysian states, Selangor recorded the most infection with a total of 1,203 cases while Sabah and Kuala Lumpur respectfully recorded 289 and 196 cases.
Top Glove stocks dropped 10%
Malaysia-based glove manufacturer Top Glove was founded in 1991 and has since emerged to the world's largest supplier of gloves. Currently, it has captured 26% share in the world market, exporting rubber gloves to more than 2,000 customers across 195 countries.
While it began as a local business with just one factory and glove production line in Malaysia, Top Glove has already spawned its operations in China, Thailand, and Vietnam while it also has offices in Brazil, Germany, and the USA.
On its daily operations, Top Glove produces about 220 million disposable rubber gloves while the company is now the second-largest company in Malaysia as the coronavirus pandemic boosted the demand on face masks and disposable gloves.
However, with the recent development, company shares already dropped 10% on November 17 after the EMCO was first announced. Last November 23, the shares marginally increased compared to November 20 closing after Top Gloves was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices list under the Emerging Markets category.
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Written by CJ Robles
