The Minerals Council South Africa last year announced plans to undertake a series of surveys to better understand the progression of COVID-19 in local mining operations and it has recently received the results of the first phase of seroprevalence surveys. Mining Weekly reports that the results show that the number of individuals with antibodies to COVID-19 was 21%.
Minerals Council health head Dr Thuthula Balfour on 4 February said the council planned to conduct two more rounds of surveys to add to the body of knowledge available on the disease.
Mining Weekly reports that the mining industry, which has developed significant COVID-19 testing capability, has thus far undertaken 106,744 tests. In terms of testing against population numbers, the mining industry has achieved a 22.62% testing rate, which compares against a South African average of 14.01% and a global average of 18.76%.
The report says in terms of vaccinating mining employees, the Minerals Council is working with its members on an awareness campaign to dispel myths and encourage employees to get the vaccine once it becomes available.
Balfour also hinted that some miners, such as coal miners that produce coal for Eskom’s power stations, might be prioritised in the second phase of vaccines roll-out (after healthcare workers have all received vaccinations) as those workers were deemed essential during the Alert Level 5 restrictions and under the disaster management regulations.
[link url="https://www.miningweekly.com/article/survey-shows-21-of-south-african-miners-have-covid-19-antibodies-minerals-council-2021-02-04"]Full Mining Weekly report (Open access)[/link]