Today, Toyota has confirmed that a male full-time employee in his 20’s working as an line worker at its Toyota City Takaoka Plant, based in Aichi Prefecture, Japan has been found to be infected with COVID-19. The employee in question reported having a fever on Saturday, March 14, and has been off staying home to rest from Monday, March 16. On March 19, as his fever continued, he took the test for the COVID-19 virus, which returned positive.

Since we first learned that the employee was suspected to be “positive” with COVID-19, we conducted an investigation and have found 11 other individuals to have been in close contact with him. As a safety precaution, these individuals have been asked to stay home until the 14th day from the date that they had last contact with the employee. Also, Toyota immediately disinfected the affected work sites on March 19 after learning that the employee was suspected of being positive and resumed operation shortly afterwards.

We sincerely apologize for any anxiety or concern that this news may cause to people in the surrounding regions. We are treating this as an issue that affects all locations and will further enhance our communication and health checks with staff at all locations. We will do our best to provide timely updates on these individuals as the situation progresses as well as implementing measures to prevent the further spread of the virus.

Sincerely,

Akio Toyoda, President
Toyota Motor Corporation