suspend production and sales through the lockdown. Daihatsu Motor, which manufactures nearly half of its production outside Japan, in Malaysia, has also followed suit, with work being suspended in two plants in the Southeast Asian country.
The pandemic has also forced the automakers to suspend activities at factories in the region’s largest car manufacturing hub, Thailand, where outbreaks among workers were reported. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Vietnam, COVID-19 strains with traits from the UK and India variants have been reported in areas in the Northern territory which are packed with industrial parks. However, the situation appears to be improving in Malaysia, as daily infections dropped below 6,000 today, for the first time since the country surpassed the 6,000-mark on 19 May. Nevertheless, authorities continue to warn the public over the severity of the situation, as the virus is said to be within communities, in workplaces, in shopping complexes and so on.
