Operations were suspended at the Chinese smartphone maker Oppo's factory in Greater Noida after six of the company employees tested positive for novel coronavirus, company officials said on Monday. The factory was reopened earlier this month following weeks of being non-operational due to the nationwide lockdown. The company is now getting thousands of factory workers tested for COVID-19. The same factory is also used by OnePlus to assemble its phones.
"As an organisation that places the safety of all our employees and citizens at the forefront, we have suspended all operations at our manufacturing facility in Greater Noida and initiated COVID-19 testing for 3000+ employees, for which results are awaited," Oppo India said in a statement.
Six employees at the factory of the phone-maker tested positive for COVID-19, where operations had resumed on May 8, 2020, owing to the lockdown.
"Will only allow employees with negative test results to resume office following all safety protocols. We are undertaking stringent measures to keep the employees safe and disinfecting the premises," Oppo India added.
It is unclear how the suspension of operations at the Oppo factory will impact the sales of its devices in India.
As mentioned, OnePlus also uses the same facility for assembling its phones and the company has noted that closely monitoring the situation.
"The health and wellbeing of our employees, partners and contractors remains our top priority," a OnePlus spokesperson told Gadgets 360 in an emailed statement. "We are closely monitoring the current situation while ensuring necessary measures are being implemented in accordance with the Government's instructions."
OnePlus had recently launched its OnePlus 8 series in India that is likely being made at the same plant. One of the OnePlus 8 series phones – OnePlus 8 – is went on sale for the first time earlier today via Amazon. The company said the future OnePlus 8 series sales would go ahead as planned as well.
Editor's Note: Updated with a statement from OnePlus.
Which is the bestselling Vivo smartphone in India? Why has Vivo not been making premium phones? We interviewed Vivo's director of brand strategy Nipun Marya to find out, and to talk about the company's strategy in India going forward. We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.