Ferrari stated on Wednesday it was piloting a project to carry out voluntary screening of workers and their families for coronavirus once the automaker’s factories in Italy restart.
In a statement, Ferrari stated its “Back on Track” plan, developed with a pool of virologists and experts, was made to create a safe working environment for when its operations resumed.
In March the luxury automaker closed its factories in Maranello and Modena, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, in a response to the coronavirus pandemic and a shortage of parts.
It has stated it would resume on April 14, given it had supplies.
Italy, one of the nations hardest hit by the pandemic, has observed an improvement in infection trends recently and officials are starting to look ahead to a second phase when lockdown restrictions might be eased.
The lockdown, though deemed to be essential for fighting the pandemic, is taking a heavy toll on the already fragile economy, with forecasts of a 6% annual contraction in regional output deemed realistic by the Treasury.
But any reopening of industry is expected to be gradual and subject to a range of conditions being put in place to safeguard staff from the risk of infection.
As part of the Back on Track plan Ferrari, controlled by the Agnelli family’s holding group Exor, stated it would offer its workers blood tests, on a voluntary basis, to screen for COVID-19 coronavirus.
The tests will also be provided to cohabiting family members and to the staff of suppliers working at the company, it stated.
In a final step, every worker will also be given a chance to use an App to receive medical support in checking the symptoms of the novel coronavirus.
Ferrari stated the App would also be used to track the contacts of those associated with the initiative to improve health monitoring.
In a letter to Exor shareholders, Exor head John Elkann, who is also Ferrari chairman, stated the App, while respecting privacy rules, would help monitor and contain the emergence of any new infections amongst workers.
Ferrari’s project is supported by Emilia Romagna and the automaker stated it would be sharing results of its project with the region’s officials.
About 139,422 people in Italy have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. The virus has killed 17,669 people in the country.
