Coronavirus sickens almost 90 at biggest Russian gold mine

The miners’ unit at the Siberian province of Krasnoyarsk recorded 82 new cases of the deadly virus in the past day, taking the total to 89, the press service of the regional branch of Rospotrebnadzor said. More than 94% of those infected have no symptoms, it said.

Preliminary results show that several dozen of workers at Olimpiada mine, the largest in Russia, have Covid-19, Polyus spokesman said in e-mailed comment. Polyus is testing all workers at Olimpiada and those who tested positive have all been isolated, it said. The mine is operating as normal, spokesman said.

Olimpiada, which employs more than 3 400 people, including some accommodated in shift camps, has proven and probable reserves of 26 million ounces of gold.

Polyus on May 7 confirmed the first cases of Covid-19 at Olimpiada. The company said it was enforcing safety measures, including splitting workers into smaller groups and restricting access to the mine. Since April Polyus tests all the workers that enter new shift.