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Company Response

1 Jun 2020

Equinox Gold response

...Mining activities at Los Filos were temporarily suspended in early April in compliance with Mexico Ministry of Health regulations requiring the suspension of all non-essential businesses from April 1 to April 30 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As agreed with regulators, the Los Filos workforce was reduced and all mine site activities were suspended except those required to maintain necessary safety, security and environmental systems. The Ministry of Health subsequently extended the suspension to May 31 with the potential for earlier restart in areas with low cases of COVID-19. Los Filos applied for the earlier restart and in early May recalled additional workers to site from outside the region so they could complete 14 days of isolation, as recommended by health officials, before joining the general workforce. On May 14, the Federal government declared mining an essential activity. On May 24, Los Filos received approval to restart operations. The safety of our workforce and local communities is our top priority. As soon as they became available for purchase, Los Filos obtained PCR (polymerise chain reaction) tests and began testing its workforce using the services of a government-approved third-party laboratory. PCR tests are considered the most effective COVID-19 test to date and are used for government testing. All workers on site at Los Filos were screened for COVID-19 using the PCR test, including individuals who had been isolated since their return to the mine in early May. A number of individuals tested positive for COVID-19 and immediately returned home to self-isolate. All individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 were asymptomatic... 

Part of the following timelines

México: Equinox Gold acusada de violar el derecho a la salud de sus personas empleadas durante la pandemia de Covid-19; la empresa responde

Mexico: Equinox Gold accused of violating the right to health of their workers during the Covid-19 pandemic; incl. company response