COVID outbreak closes Ok Tedi
A PAPUA New Guinea mine employing Cairns-based FIFO workers has shut down operations after it was revealed seven local workers tested positive to COVID-19.
The Ok Tedi copper and gold mine in the remote mountains of PNG’s Western Provence ceased all operations for 14 days in response to coronavirus health concerns on Thursday.
It’s understood a mine worker travelled to the mine site from Port Moresby to Kiunga on a commercial flight late last month before the city’s lockdown.
“The employee is currently working in our operations, travelling to and from work on buses. It is likely that more people have been infected, giving rise to an unacceptable risk of accelerated transmission within the Ok Tedi workforce,” the mine’s chief executive Musje Werror said in a statement.
The mine’s closure came as Papua New Guinea authorities reported a record 39 new virus cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 153.
Ok Tedi mine spokeswoman Geralinda Warre said the company employed a number of Australians who either lived in Cairns or transited through Cairns to other parts of the country.
“Ok Tedi Mining Ltd takes seriously the health and wellbeing of our employees. We have implemented a comprehensive management plan to safeguard our employees, contractors and host communities from the virus,” she said.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, when asked if all PNG flights should be grounded in response to the mine outbreak, said strict COVID-19 protocols were in place.
“It’s a hard one. But as long as the testing is done and all the protocols are in place then I don’t think there is a risk,” he said.