A spurt in covid-19 cases have been reported in the last 24 hours in and around the JSW’s primary steel plant Toranagallu Steel Works in Karnataka. A total of 76 people steel plant workers, their family members and immediate contacts have tested positive, according to media reported. More than a 100 contacts of those who have tested positive are now quarantined in local hotels, Deccan Herald reported on 11 June. Over the past week, infections have surfaced at Jindal township Vidyanagar, VV Nagar, Shankargudda Colony, Toranagallu village, Taranagar, Taaluru, Vaddu and Basapur. These areas and surrounding villages have been temporarily sealed while local health officers conduct door-to-door screenings.

JSW Steel did not give details about the outbreak or how it has affected the plant. However, Mint has learnt that Vinod Nowal, Deputy Managing Director, JSW Steel, is in Toranagallu at the moment, which has over 30,000 employees.

JSW officials said that before the employees tested positive, all preventive measures had been put in place by the factory management. Employees from the affected section were quarantined soon after the first case was reported. A JSW employee said that after cases started multiplying, the factory stopped buses coming from Hospet and Ballari, and safety measures had been reinforced. Ballari district now has 147 Covid-19 cases, of which 86 are related to JSW. While 49 were discharged, the district has reported one death.

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