Unilever Closes West Java Factory on Discovery of Covid-19 Cluster

BEKASI, KOMPAS.com – Unilever closed its factory in West Java following the discovery of a Covid-19 cluster at the Cikarang plant on Monday, June 29.

Unilever Governance and Corporate Affairs Director Sancoyo Antarikso confirmed the finding of the cluster at a factory for tea-based beverages in the Bekasi Regency’s Cikarang region.

Also read: The Covid-19 Crisis and Its Domino Effect on Indonesia

“We found the cluster during a mass PCR test of the factory’s 265 employees and their families,” said Sancoyo in a written statement to Kompas.com on Friday, July 3. “Twenty-one employees were found positive in the test. They also transmitted [Covid-19] to 15 of their family members.”

Sancoyo added that the employees have been placed in self-quarantine at home. Unilever reported its findings to the Bekasi Regency Health Service, he added.

Carrying out countermeasures

Sancoyo said that the British-Dutch multinational closed the factory as a precautionary measure.

“The closure is part of [Unilever’s] safety protocols for Covid-19,” he said. “It is standard procedure for our installations in 180 countries around the world.”

Sancoyo added that the company also mitigated Covid-19 transmission by dividing the factory into zones. “The Cikarang factory has tight protocols dividing the work zones and production area zones.” 

“Employees can only work in their designated zones, and cannot cross from one to another.”