PepsiCo shuts its factory in Beijing after reporting 8 coronavirus cases

PepsiCo has shut down its factory in Beijing after reporting eight cases of coronavirus, a company spokesperson confirmed on Sunday.

Two of the workers – who were tested positive for coronavirus – had recently visited the Xinfadi market, a sprawling wholesale food market at the centre of the Chinese capital’s fresh coronavirus outbreak.

The spokesperson said 480 staff workers in the closed factory, as well as 87 people who were in close contact with them, have been put in quarantine and tested for coronavirus. To date, none of them has been tested positive.

The factory, which produces potato chips, has been sealed for sterilization, the spokesperson added.

PepsiCo said in its statement that none of its bottling factories in China, including the ones in Beijing, have reported any coronavirus cases.