PT HM Sampoerna Tbk, the producer of some of Indonesia's most popular cigarette brands, says it's taking extra precautions regarding the distribution of its products after one of its factories in Surabaya, East Java was identified as a COVID-19 cluster.
According to reports, two workers at the factory had tested positive for the coronavirus on April 15 after being on local health authorities' watchlist for a couple of weeks. After identifying the factory of 506 workers as a possible cluster, authorities carried out further tests on 123 workers and found that 63 of them had contracted the virus.
The first two workers who tested positive for the coronavirus died on April 24.
On April 27, Sampoerna temporarily suspended operations in the factory in order to disinfect the facility and allow its workers to self-isolate at home.
Amid growing concerns that the virus may stick on its cigarettes, the Philip Morris International-owned tobacco firm said that it's imposing a five-day quarantine policy on its products before they can be cleared for distribution.
"That is almost two times longer than suggested by world health authorities," a statement posted by the company on social media read.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), studies have shown that "the COVID-19 virus can survive for up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel, less than 4 hours on copper and less than 24 hours on cardboard."