Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday announced that it was halting operations at all its manufacturing facilities in the country in view of the surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

In a statement, the company said all of its plants and the Global Parts Centre will remain closed for four days in a staggered manner between April 22 and May 1 based on the local scenario.

“The company will utilise these shut-down days to carry out necessary maintenance work in the manufacturing plants,” the statement said. “The shutdown will not impact the company’s ability to meet the demand, which has been impacted due to localised shut-downs in many states, and production loss will be compensated during the remainder of the quarter.”

The company said that all its corporate offices are already in work from home mode and only a limited number of employees were going to offices on a rotational basis for the continuity of essential services.

Hero MotoCorp is the first major manufacturer to announce a temporary suspension of production as a precautionary measure to check the spread of the coronavirus, reported The Indian Express. However, some medium-scale companies have also shut down their plants amid the surge in infections.

Meerut-based power transformer manufacturer Kanohar Electricals had announced that its plant would be shut for three days from Monday. “We have closed the plant and will review the situation on Wednesday,” said Kanohar Electricals Managing Director Dinesh Singhal. “A four-day shutdown will help break the chain and give us clarity on the situation of employees and workers.”

“While there is no nationwide lockdown, it is important for companies to take a call on shutdown based on the Covid-19 situation locally,” said Anil Bhardwaj, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises.

India on Wednesday reported 2.95 lakh new cases and 2,023 deaths in the last 24 hours. This is an unprecedented figure since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The country now has 1,56,16,130 cases and the toll rose to 1,82,553.