Mineworkers hit by Covid-19

MINEWORKERS in the platinum sector have recorded the highest number of Covid-19-related deaths, according to a report compiled by the health and safety department of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) under Sipho Mungwe, who heads the unit.

Mungwe said they had compiled their report based on statistics from the Minerals Council of South Africa, which gave a breakdown of a number of mines in the country and figures of infections, including Covid-19-related deaths in the different sectors.

According to the statistics, there are 385 mines in the country which employ almost 500000 people.

A total of 407 436 mineworkers underwent screening for Covid-19 in the past few months. Of this number, 35 571 tested positive and 34 771 have recovered from the virus. The stats show that there are 399 active cases in the mining sector, while the number of Covid-19 deaths stands at 401.

Only 946 mineworkers had received their vaccinations so far.

Munge said the platinum sector recorded the highest number of deaths at 146, while there were 13709 positive cases. Second highest was the gold sector with 115 deaths and 6748 positive cases. The coal sector recorded the lowest number of deaths at 67, but had 1 000 more positive cases than the gold sector.