Aurangabad, June 26: Bajaj Auto on Friday confirmed 140 cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections at its Waluj plant in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district. In a statement, Bajaj Auto also said two of its employees have died of coronavirus, but added that operations at the Waluj plant remain unaffected. The company's CHRO Ravi Kyran Ramasamy said there are more than 8,100 employees and contractors employed at the Waluj plant. Maharashtra Reports Highest Single-Day Spike of 5,024 COVID-19 Cases, State tally Tops 1.5 Lakh-Mark; Death Toll Increased to 7,106.

"We have more than 8100 employees and contractors employed in our Waluj plant. Our current incidence of 140 cases of Covid is less than 2 percent of our strength. Two of our infected employees with underlying conditions of hyper tension and diabetes have unfortunately succumbed to the infection," Ramasamy said. He also dismissed reports that Aurangabad District Collector has said that the facility would be shut for two days. Coronavirus Spike Likely in July-August, Striving to Restrict Fatality Rate, Says Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.

Ramasamy said the company has planned downtime for routine maintenance on Saturday as it was not operating at full capacity. "Post lock down we have had similar routine shutdown on Saturdays as a cost saving measure many times due to subdued demand. Also our weekly off is on Sunday when we are normally closed. Our business operations continue to be unaffected," he added.

Maharashtra, the worst-hit state, so far has reported 1,52,765 COVID-19 cases, including 7,106 deaths. It recorded a spike of 5,024 fresh cases with 175 deaths today. After 3 days, the recovery rate marginally fell from 52.42 per cent to 52.25 percent, and the mortality (death) rate stood at 4.65 per cent.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2020 10:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).