KITCHENER -- An employee at the Toyota plant in Cambridge who works in its plastics maintenance department has tested positive for COVID-19, workers at the factory say.

According to a memo sent to employees on Wednesday and obtained by CTV News, the employee was last at work on March 12 and has not been back on the job since testing positive for the virus.

The company said it would stop production in that part of the plant to clean maintenance areas and common areas in the shop.

The notice states that the company is contacting 10 staff members who worked in close contact with the employee to be placed in self-isolation.

For the Thursday morning shift, employees say that operations in the rest of the plant are running as normal.

The news comes after Toyota confirmed on Wednesday that it would be temporarily suspending production at its plants in Cambridge and Woodstock.

The company said at the time that all of its automobile and components parts plants in North America will shut down March 23 and Mach 24, with production set to resume on March 25.

During this time, the automaker said it would conduct a thorough cleaning of all its manufacturing facilities during the shutdown.