The industry is worried about the spread of Omikron

Hyangnam Complex and Osong Complex are confirmed one after another. Quarantine measures for the department for a week

Concerned about production disruptions due to a shortage of replacement personnel…"It's hard to meet the due date

The Omicron mutation COVID-19 virus is also hurting factories and research institutes of pharmaceutical bio companies.

 

Concerns are growing over production disruptions as a series of confirmed cases have emerged in Hwaseong Hyangnam Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex and Cheongju Osong Life Science Complex, where pharmaceutical factories are concentrated.

 

According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 15th, a series of COVID-19 confirmed cases have recently occurred in the Hyangnam Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex located in Hyangnam-eup, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do.

 

It is reported that the number of confirmed cases is increasing after the Lunar New Year holiday.

 

Currently, 40 factories of 38 pharmaceutical companies are in operation in the Hyangnam complex.

 

There are 3,500 workers working in the complex alone.

 

Most of them commute from Suwon or Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do.

 

The problem is the spread of COVID-19 in Suwon According to Gyeonggi-do, as of midnight on the 15th, there were 31,894 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Suwon.

 

The number of new confirmed cases is 1,387.

 

In the case of Mars, a total of 27,039 people, including 1,589 new confirmed cases.

 

Analysts say that the Hyangnam Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex has also been affected by the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Suwon.

 

The pharmaceutical industry is concerned that if the spread continues, drug production will be disrupted.

 

Currently, most of the factories in the Hyangnam Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex are reported to take self-quarantine measures for a certain period of time for COVID-19 confirmed patients and all departments.

 

In addition to the government's guidelines for self-quarantine of COVID-19 confirmed patients for a week, it is interpreted as a measure to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

 

An official from the pharmaceutical industry working at the Hyangnam complex said, "Unlike the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, the entire factory will not be shut down," adding, "The number of confirmed cases has been increasing recently as the Omicron mutation spreads so rapidly.

 

In particular, there seems to be a series of confirmed cases after the Lunar New Year holiday, he said.

 

He said, "There are places where all employees of the department are quarantined for a week when a confirmed person comes out, and some places take measures not to go to work until the infection of fellow employees is confirmed," adding, "Since the factory cannot work from home, everyone seems to be nervous about whether there will be a confirmed person." The self-quarantine rules have also been greatly strengthened recently, he added.

 

Another pharmaceutical industry official said, "As quarantine is carried out on a team or department basis, if at least one confirmed person comes out, the operation of the line will be disrupted," adding, "Even if workers from other lines return their vacations and are put in, production delays are inevitable." Concerns are also growing at the Osong Life Science Complex located in Osong-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do.

 

The Osong Life Science Complex currently houses more than 70 companies and research institutes related to medicines, medical devices, cosmetics, and food.

 

About half of them are pharmaceutical bio companies.

 

As of 8 a.m.

 

on the 15th, 710 new COVID-19 confirmed patients were confirmed in Cheongju, Chungbuk, where Osong Complex belongs.

 

Currently, 6,368 people have been confirmed and are in self-quarantine.

 

The pharmaceutical industry predicts that the occurrence of confirmed cases in Osong Complex will also be a matter of time.

 

An official from the pharmaceutical industry said, "The current spread is so fast that there is nothing strange about it even if a confirmed person comes out at any time," adding, "The problem is that it is difficult to find substitute manpower." If there are one or two confirmed cases, it will be okay, but if there are several confirmed cases, it is expected that the production schedule will be tight."