Samsung Electronics is shutting down one of its factories in Brazil as the novel coronavirus is rapidly spreading across the Latin American country, according to the company on Tuesday.

Samsung is closing the smartphone and home appliance manufacturing facilities in Manaus in the north of Brazil from Tuesday through Sunday in support of the Brazilian government’s efforts to contain the virus spread, the company said.

Another factory in Campinas, in the state of Sao Paulo, is running as usual. The company’s headquarters for Latin America in the city of Sao Paulo and sales branch have ordered employees to work from home.

For Samsung, Brazil is the biggest market in Latin America, as it is the largest economy in the region.

Samsung has been seeing growing demand for both midrange and high-end mobile devices and premium home appliances, including Samsung QLED TVs.

Earlier this month, Samsung held a separate event to unveil the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z Flip smartphones in Sao Paulo.

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong visited the Manaus facilities in January. 

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)