Russian Health Ministry confirms that over 3,000 workers at oil field in Yakutia have COVID-19

After over 10,000 workers at the Chayanda oil field in Yakutia were tested for the coronavirus, “one third tentatively showed positive results,” confirmed Elena Malinnikova, an infectious disease specialist for the Russian Health Ministry, after visiting the shift workers’ settlement.

She also said that despite the positive test results, workers at the Chayanda oil field are not showing any symptoms of COVID-19.

On May 2, Yakutia’s deputy head, Olga Balabkina, revealed that 3,500 workers at the Chayanda oil field had been diagnosed with the coronavirus. However, she later deleted the corresponding social media post.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, claims that the Chayanda oil field had been placed under quarantine and that there were only 39 workers with confirmed cases of the coronavirus. While 16 of them have only mild symptoms, 23 people have been hospitalized.

• On April 27, shift workers at the Chayanda oil field (operated by the company “Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk”), gathered for an unplanned protest, demanding measures to protect them against the spread of COVID-19. The authorities in Yakutia later claimed that the protest ended after officials promised to remove the workers from the settlement at the site.
• As of May 4, Yakutia had officially registered 311 cases of COVID-19, including four related deaths and 43 people who have recovered from the disease.