Russia: army deployed to Siberia on coronavirus-contaminated gold mine

Text by: Daniel Vallot Follow

It is the largest gold mine in Russia and has become one of the main sources of contamination of the coronavirus in Siberia with more than 800 cases recorded in less than two weeks on the site. The mine has been placed under surveillance by the Russian army to contain the spread of the virus among workers.

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With our correspondent in Moscow,

It was on May 6 that the first case of coronavirus was registered among mine workers. And in less than two weeks, the virus has spread at lightning speed: according to the latest figures, more than 800 employees are contaminated, and this Thursday evening, the management of the gold mine announces the first death among its employees .

Located in Siberia in the Krasnoyarsk region, the Olimpiada mine is the largest and richest in Russia and the Polyus group which operates it is the leading producer in Russia. The company represents no less than 20% of gold production in the country.

Despite the spread of the disease, mine management ensures that work continues on the site. The contaminated employees are placed in quarantine in a camp whose installation was supervised by the Russian army.

The Ministry of Defense also announces that it has deployed a field hospital on the site to receive the sick. According to the Russian press, more than 140 workers have been hospitalized.

This source of contamination is of such magnitude that the Krasnoiarsk region has become the most affected in the country, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

► Read also: Coronavirus: Russia becomes the second most affected country in the world

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