Webasto now says four employees have contracted the coronavirus and it will close its Stockdorf headquarters in Bavaria until 2 February.

The German supplier had initially confirmed two coronavirus cases, but this has now doubled, with the manufacturer announcing the news to its workforce late last night (28 January).

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“We have currently notice of three further employees who tested positive and at the moment we are investigating the colleagues who were in contact with them,” said Webasto Group CEO, Holger Engelmann.

As with the employee whose infection was announced on Monday, the three other colleagues work at the company’s headquarters in Stockdorf (Starnberg district close to Munich). The company remains in close contact with authorities and is following recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute.

Yesterday, Webasto had already cancelled all business trips to and from China for at least the next two weeks and employees at the Stockdorf location were offered the possibility of working at home this week.

Given the newly arisen situation, further steps have been taken:

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  • Until 2 February 2, 2020: temporary closure of the Stockdorf site
  • Until 2 February 2, 2020: any travel of employees from the company’s headquarters in Stockdorf to national and international locations is stopped (for China it remains two weeks)
  • Wednesday, 29 January, 2020: Start of systematic testing of identified contacts to the concerned persons by a team of doctors from the public health department

Webasto informed its employees on Tuesday evening about the new measures in place.

Bavaria’s Minister of Health, Melanie Huml added through a basic translation service: “A total of around 40 employees of the company were identified who could be considered as close contacts.

“Those affected should be tested on Wednesday as a precaution. They will also be examined by the LGL’s [State Office for Health and Food Safety] ‘Task Force Infectiology’ [and] questioned in detail.”