At Hrodna Azot, Measures to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Were Canceled

Does the administration care about workers' health?

On June 2, a document was posted on the "Stachkom Azota" telegram channel, providing for the partial cancellation of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the enterprise. Euroradio phoned the Hrodna plant: the order turned out to be genuine.

“This is because the incidence rate has declined, there are vaccinations, workers are vaccinated,” said Viktar Mikhnevich, Deputy Chief Engineer for Production, whose signature is on the order.

According to Mikhnevich, the canceled paragraph 1.1 of the order provided for the dispersal of workers, a decrease in contacts between people, as well as a shift in work schedules, which allowed shifts to change within forty minutes.

- People already contact in canteens, shops, they sign work permits. I think that enough measures have been taken, - says Mikhnevich. In the "Stachkom Azota" telegram channel, the abolition of additional measures is ironically called "a victory in the spread of COVID-19." "The whole world is fighting COVID-19, and at Azot, the leadership believes that, since the virus is not visible, it means that it is not there, it is in our heads," the strike committee's channel writes.

Can additional measures to prevent the incidence of coronavirus at the enterprise be returned?

- If epidemiologists say that we have a big threat, then we will return measures. It’s probably necessary to return to normal life somehow. Moreover, there are vaccinations. I keep track of the reports, there are fewer and fewer infections across the enterprise.

Viktar Mikhnevich receives summaries of the epidemiological situation at the enterprise from the chief physician. However, the deputy chief engineer is not aware of how many workers of Hrodna Azot are vaccinated.

- You, of course, ask such questions. There is a head physician who is responsible for health.

As reported in the Hrodna Chemist newspaper, as of June 1, 11 employees with coronavirus infection were registered at Hrodna Azot, and 1,677 people recovered. There are" 45 people in the medical unit with ARVI," and two pneumonia cases were diagnosed.