Global beverages maker, Coca Cola India has announced that it has temporarily suspended production at its manufacturing facilities. However, it is operating its facilities in very small numbers to cater to the demand of ‘essential beverages’.

Essential beverages in the case of Coca Cola India would be water, which is sells under the Kinley brand. It will also be producing juices as part of production of essential beverages.

Under juices, Coca Cola India makes and sells Minute Maid range of juices, Maaza, Fuze Tea, among others.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has proven to be a global pandemic of an unprecedented scale and resulted in a challenging time for all of us across nations. At this moment the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees is of paramount importance to us. Therefore, in compliance with the Government directive, we at the Coca-Cola system in India have temporarily suspended production at our manufacturing facilities,” the company said in a statement.

The company also said that is has adopted a purpose-driven approach to ensure complete safety and wellbeing of its people, products and assets.

On a global level, the parent company has also been taking several measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic. It said

“The safety and quality of our products are top priorities for us, and we can say with confidence that our products are safe. According to the U.S Food and Drug Administration, there is no known transmission of the coronavirus from food or food packaging,” the company said.

Meanwhile, rival PepsiCo said in a statement, that it is investing up to $11 million to provide food, water and other critical support amid the Covid-19 pandemic.