DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA — Tiger Brands International is temporarily shutting down a bakery after 12 employees tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The plant produces bread, buns and rolls under the Albany Bakeries brand in in Durban, South Africa.

On April 9, Tiger Brands said an administrative employee working at the site tested positive for COVID-19. All employees who had come into contact with the individual were sent for testing per National Institute for Communicable Diseases protocol. Testing was then extended to all staff working in the company’s administration building. Subsequently, 12 people working in the building tested positive for the virus on April 15. None of the confirmed cases were linked to production line or delivery personnel.

As a result of the bakery’s closing, bread produced in the facility on April 15 was not delivered. The company did not disclose when the plant would reopen.

Tiger Brands is a packaged goods company that produces bakery, snack, meat, cleaning and personal hygiene products. It has operations in South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Peru. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Tiger Brands developed specific protocols to mitigate contamination risks, including sanitizing packaged product, surfaces in factories and delivery trucks, staggering shifts at operations when possible, increasing health screenings and providing private transport for staff.