HANOI - Changshin Vietnam, a South Korean-owned shoemaker and supplier to Nike, has suspended production at three of its factories near Ho Chi Minh City due to a coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Thursday.

The factories in Dong Nai province, which employ nearly 42,000 workers, will remain shut until July 20, the government said in a statement, adding many of the 177 infections detected in the province were workers from those factories.

Calls to Changsin's business number went unanswered on Thursday.

Vietnam has until recently successfully contained its coronavirus outbreaks, with limited disruption to its crucial manufacturing sector, which produces garments, footwear and electronics goods for some of the world's biggest brands.

The outbreak since late April has been more of a challenge, however, with record cases on many days this month, most of those in the commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbouring industrial provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong.

The outbreak prompted Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp, which makes footwear for companies like Nike and Adidas, to suspend operations at its Ho Chi Minh City plant from Wednesday.

Pou Chen told the Taipei stock exchange on Thursday that the plant would be closed until July 23 for "health and safety considerations", adding it did not expect a major financial impact.

Eclat Textile Co., a Taiwan-based garment and fabric supplier, has suspended production at its Dong Nai plant until July 17, it told the Taipei stock exchange.

Vietnam has recorded 38,200 infections and 138 deaths overall, the vast majority of those since May.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Ed Davies, Martin Petty)