Sun Pharma HCQ plant slapped closure notice after 14 worker test Covid positive

Surat: Drug Giant Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Sun Pharma) was recently slapped a closure notice by the Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH) administration after 14 of its employees tested positive for fatal Coronavirus. The DNH plant has been shut for the contact tracing and isolation of other employees working in the plant who may have come in contact with the infected workers.

As per recent media accounts, on July 2, 2020 (Thursday) over a dozen employees tested positive for COVID-19. Observing this, around 150 employees were quarantined in private hotels and hospitals in Silvassa.

This came after an employee working in the quality control department of the company located at Piparia village in Dadra and Nagar Haveli tested positive, following which the health department officials started tracing his contacts and carried out COVID-19 testing.

The plant located in Pipariya village in Silvassa is into the manufacturing of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets. About 10 lakh HCQ tablets are manufactured there per day.

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The workers who tested positive are undergoing treatment in the government hospital in Silvassa while the authorities have disinfected the house and company premises. Besides, the entry and exit of the unit have been restricted by the district administration authorities.

Sandeep Kumar Singh, district collector, DNH told TOI, "The Dadra plant of Sun Pharma is making drugs and syrups, while the hydroxychloroquine tablets are manufactured at the other plant located at Pipariya village."

"Our health teams have been deployed at the Pipariya plant of the company for the medical surveillance of the workers and other staff members," Singh added.

According to Singh, about 400 samples are being collected and sent for laboratory testing every day. A total of 600 samples from Daman, DNH, and Diu are tested at the laboratory set-up in DNH.