Samsung Display closes part of Vietnamese plant to curb coronavirus spread

South Korean flat panel maker Samsung Display Co. on Monday said it has shut down part of its plant in Vietnam after an employee tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

It has temporarily closed a building at its plant in Bac Ninh, Vietnam, where the employee had worked, Yonhap news agency reported.

However, the company, which supplies smartphone displays to major handset makers, including Samsung Electronics Co., said the plant's production lines are operating as per normal, since the employee, identified as Vietnam's 262th virus patient, had been doing work related to quality management.

According to the Vietnamese health authorities, the 26-year-old man showed symptoms on March 31 and worked until last Monday. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Sunday.

To protect its workers, Samsung Display said it is disinfecting facilities and commuter buses at the plant. It has also asked those who had contact with the virus-infected employee to self-quarantine.

Nguyen Huong Giang, chair of the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province, told state broadcaster VTV on Monday that 44 people at the unit had been quarantined, and that the factory and buses used to transport workers have been sprayed with disinfectant.

Recently, Samsung Display’s parent Samsung Electronics had to suspend its home appliance factory in the United States after two of its workers had tested positive for coronavirus.

The South Korean tech giant said its facility, located in Newberry County, South Carolina, is being thoroughly cleaned and sanitised.

When the outbreak first started in China last year, Samsung's strategy of spreading out its production base to countries including Vietnam and India seemed to pay off. But as the virus spread across the globe, Samsung too has had to close factories and retail stores in Europe, India and the United States.