The pharmaceutical company in Nanjangud, whose employees and their close contacts account for 26 of the 37 COVID-19 positive cases in Mysuru so far, has claimed that the plant had not imported any raw materials from China in refrigerated containers.
“None of the raw materials imported from China for the plant comes under any cold chain or refrigerated container,” said Jubilant Generics Ltd., the company, in a statement. The company’s claim assumes significance in the light of investigations exploring whether materials imported from China were the source of infection.
Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Abhiram Sankar, however, said the investigation into the source of infection will find out the truth, rather than go by claims. Minister for Health Sriramulu, who held a review meeting with officials in Mysuru on Wednesday, said samples of the raw material had been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, for tests.
The company said that the raw materials had come in normal containers and had taken more than 21 days to reach the plant by sea route. The storage of raw material was also in normal temperature, which was above 32 degrees Celsius when the authorities drew the samples. The company sought to dismiss as premature any conclusions to be made on the role of raw materials in the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, more than 1,300 persons connected to the company, including employees, their family members, relatives and close contacts, have already been quarantined. A majority of the employees stay in Nanjangud, which has been declared as a containment zone.
With several employees of the company testing positive, officials have not ruled out the possibility of P 52, the 35-year-old employee of the company, who tested positive on March 26, contracting the virus from already infected employees of the company.
Mr. Sriramulu told reporters that the inquiry was not only investigating whether P 52 had met any visitor from a foreign country, but also checking for visitors to the plant and the travel history of the company’s employees.