Seoul - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday that one of its chip factory workers in South Korea had tested positive for coronavirus, but its output has not been affected.
This is the first time a Samsung chip factory employee has tested positive for the virus, although several confirmed cases at the tech giant's smartphone factory in South Korea's southeastern city of Gumi resulted in a temporary suspension.
Chip factories have been largely unaffected by the pandemic which started in China, although concerns over supply disruption have contributed to recent price rises.
"One of our employees at our Foundry fab in Giheung, Korea, has tested positive with Covid-19," Samsung said in a statement, referring to the respiratory disease caused by the virus.
"Those who had been in close contact with the employee are currently in self-isolation and the employee's work area has been closed off for disinfection," Samsung said, adding that cleanrooms remained in operation.
South Korea, which once posted the biggest outbreak outside China, has seen cases easing in recent weeks. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 78 new cases on Monday, at least 13 of whom were people who arrived from abroad.
South Korea reported 125 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections to 9,786, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The South Korean government will also make emergency cash payments to all but the richest families and draw up a second supplementary budget next month in a bid to ease the drawn-out economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, President Moon Jae-in said on Monday.
Reuters
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