Iran’s leading car manufacturer the Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) has decided to halt production at all its plants after reports emerged its workers had contracted coronavirus.
A letter addressed to IKCO workers and managers by the company’s human resources deputy on Wednesday said that production lines would start lowering output in the second shift of the day with the aim to cut it to zero in the days leading to the New Year holidays in Iran.
The letter said that the decision had been made to protect the safety of the workers, adding that it had been authorized by IKCO’s higher management.
It was not clear how the halt, which is expected to continue until the end of national holidays in late March, would affect the output in IKCO, one of the largest automakers in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Iranian government has introduced some strict and unprecedented measures to stem the spread of coronavirus in the country.
The virus has infected a total of 9,000 people in Iran since February 19 while 354 patients have died and nearly 3,000 have recovered from the disease.