KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 — Popular Swedish home furniture and furnishings store Ikea today said its outlet in Mutiara Damansara in Petaling Jaya, Selangor will be closed from today onwards until further updates, following the detection of Covid-19 cases.

In a brief statement on Facebook this afternoon, the Ikea Damansara team said "confirmed Covid-19 positive cases” involving the outlet’s co-workers and service partners were detected following one of the store’s scheduled routine tests, but did not say how many were detected.

"We have been advised by the Ministry of Health (MOH) this morning to close our store from today until further notice to undergo full contact tracing and sanitisation in accordance to MOH’s standards.

"We are working closely with the authorities and will act on their advice. We have and will continue to carry out all necessary safety measures including replacement of service partners’ workers, contact tracing, swab tests, quarantine for all close contacts and sanitisation,” it said of the precautions taken.

Ikea Damansara said public health officials will be contacting customers who are believed to be close contacts of the confirmed cases.

"The health, safety and overall well-being of our customers, co-workers, partners and community is our top priority. We will continue to work closely with the public health officials and do our part by securing all necessary preventive measures across our stores,” it added, before noting that the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is a "shared responsibility” and urging all to do their part by following government directions to prevent the further spread of the virus.

This statement was also published on Ikea’s website under its page on the Damansara outlet.

Prior to its Facebook statement confirming the Covid-19 cases detected, the company had also posted a brief comment on one of its Facebook posts: "Hej, we’ve just received news that Ikea Damansara will be closed for the remainder of today until further notice. Please bear with us and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”