The coronavirus appears to be spreading unabated in industrial clusters of Gujarat. After pharma giant Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd closed its Dadra plant due to Covid-19 cases among employees, drug major Lupin Limited has reported 12 Covid-19 cases at its Ankleshwar facility in the Bharuch district of Gujarat.
According to Bharuch health officials, the first six cases were reported on July 11. At least six more cases were reported by Tuesday, according to multiple sources from local authorities.
The sanitisation process of the plant, which manufactures intermediates and bulk drugs, is currently said to be underway and other employees are also being tested.
It was not immediately clear if the plant was put on shutdown after the cases were reported.
An emailed query sent to Lupin in this connection remained unanswered.
The Ankleshwar facility is a CGMP-compliant site spread across 40 acres employing nearly 1,000 people. Lupin uses the facility to export its products to the US, Europe and other Eastern regions.
In a separate incident, last week, RPG Lifesciences Limited had seen at least 10 of its employees testing positive for Covid-19 at its Ankleshwar unit, local government officials confirmed. The company, however, has not made any official confirmation about the coronavirus infections at its facility, which is running without any suspension of plant operation.
However, earlier this month on July 2, Sun Pharma had temporarily closed down its Dadra facility after 17 of its employees tested positive for Covid-19. Notably, in May, Ahmedabad-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited had lost three of its employees and more than 30 had tested positive for Covid-19 at its Dholka manufacturing facility. The company had to close its plant operations from May 6 for about 15 days.