Coronavirus outbreak: Airbus to temporarily halt production in France and Spain

Amid coronavirus outbreak, airliner manufacturer, Airbus has announced that it would be stopping its production and assembly activities at its plant in France and Spain for the next four days. The measures by the multinational aerospace corporation came after the government in the two countries implemented new measures to restrict movements to fight coronavirus. Airbus in a statement also said that the company is doing everything to support its employees who are affected by schools and child care closures by providing them with a maximum of flexibility in dealing with the situation. 

Airbus, in a statement, said, “On March 17th, Airbus decided to temporarily pause production and assembly activities at its French and Spanish sites across the Company for the next four days. This is meant to allow sufficient time to implement stringent health and safety conditions in terms of hygiene, cleaning and self-distancing”. 

The company further has also advised its employees to restrict travel to business-critical missions. As per the statement, visits to Airbus from high-risk regions are also halted. Furthermore, the company is also in close contact with their customers and suppliers to minimise the impact of the restrictions on their operations. 

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'State of emergency'

Meanwhile, the French government reportedly announced a near-total lockdown. French President Emmanuel Macron said that its citizens must stay at home from mid-day of March 17 to at least 15 days. The French authorities have also suspended all as, electricity and heating bills, and rent throughout the crisis. 

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On the other hand, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reportedly declared a two-week state of emergency in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus. Spain has also announced sharp new restrictions on the movement of people across their borders, and bars, golf clubs, restaurants, museums. Several accommodation sites have also closed in order to slow the spread of the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said on March 16 that the best way to combat the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus for all countries is to ramp up their testing programs. The WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a conference in Geneva that the ‘simple message’ he has for all countries is ‘test, test, test’. He further added that the countries will remain unsuccessful to tackle the pandemic if they fail to test all suspected cases and remain ‘blindfolded’. 

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