Jubilant Life Sciences Limited on April 16 said none of its employees who had tested positive for novel coronavirus had travel history to China, refuting the claim made by a Karnataka government minister.
In a statement, the company said Patient 52, the first employee working in the Nanjangud facility in Mysuru to have tested COVID-19 positive, did not travel to China or on any overseas trip in the last six months.
"Further none of the employees tested positive so far travelled overseas in the last six months," the statement added.
The company’s response comes at the back of Karnataka’s minister in-charge of COVID-19 K Sudhakar's statement to India Today. In the interview, he had said one of the employees had travel history to China and the company failed to disclose the same.
It is still not clear how Patient 52 contracted COVID-19. The results related to the imported raw materials from China, which were sent for testing, are yet to come, said Karnataka Health Commissioner Pankaj Pandey to media persons.
Earlier a Public Interest Litigation was filed seeking investigation into the root cause of the virus spreading.
What had happened?
The company came into spotlight when the Jubilant Life Sciences related cases, which now stands at 49, spiked after the first case on March 26. Post this, the company suspended its operations and more than 1000 of its workforce were quarantined.
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Last week, a petition was filed in the Karnataka High Court seeking investigation into the issue and accused the company of importing chemicals from China in air-conditioned containers, which in turn spread the virus.
In a statement, the company has also clarified that the chemicals were imported in regular containers with temperature above 32 degrees and the virus cannot survive more than 72 hours. It had taken the container more than three weeks for transit.
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““It would be premature for any conclusions to be made on the role of raw material in spread of the virus,” the company added. The company is awaiting results of the samples taken by the government authorities.
The company manufactures essential medicines and drugs such as Azithromycin dihydrate and Azithromycin Monohydrate, which are used for treating bacterial infections such as respiratory infections. Jubilant Bhartia group is the parent company of the firm.
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