KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): I-Stone Group Bhd has temporarily halted production activities at two of its subsidiaries in Johor Bahru after 11 employees tested positive for Covid-19.

In a filing today, the group said four local engineers from i-Stone Systems Sdn Bhd contracted the virus from its customer's workplace, while seven foreign employees — four from i-Stone Engineering Sdn Bhd (IEN) and three from PA Metal Technics Sdn Bhd (PAMT) — contracted the virus in a dormitory managed by a third-party service provider.

They are currently receiving treatment at a government hospital or placed in isolation under quarantine, it said.

The group added that it has identified close contacts of the affected employees for immediate swab tests as well as to ensure that the affected employees are provided proper medical care and placed under self-quarantine.

"IEN and PAMT have imposed a halt in production activities as precautionary and preventive measures.

"To protect the health and safety of the workforce and community at large, we have immediately carried out disinfection and sanitisation measures at all our facilities," said the group.

Shares of I-Stone ended 0.5 sen or 2.56% higher at 20 sen, for a market capitalisation of RM244.3 million.