“Hudbay and the denial that its workers are infected with COVID-19”, 28 August 2020

…In the middle of this pandemic crisis, the Hudbay mining company has twice denied having infected workers, despite the fact that the Chumbivilcas COVID authority has issued information of positive cases in the Constancia camp. In a report from the Cumbivilcas Health Services Network (RSSCH, from the Spanish) of the Health Intelligence directorate, dated July 6th of this year, it is reported that 42 people have tested positive through rapid testing in the Livitaca district where the Constancia mine (Chilloroya) operates. This report contrasts with the letter issued by Hudbay to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, an institution dedicated to the defence of Human Rights in the United Kingdom… The letter, dated June 22, states: “To be clear, we have not yet had any confirmed COVID-19 cases among workers at our operations. To understand our situation and the information that is being circulated, it is important to distinguish between individuals who fail an initial screening, versus those individuals who have subsequently been confirmed to have COVID-19 as a result of a molecular test. It is also necessary to distinguish between the screening of incoming workers (who have not yet been at our Constancia mine site) and the screening of workers who are at our site.” This letter denies the RSSCH statement issued on April 27.2020, where it is reported that there are cases of infected mining workers, also lsting the responsibilities for adequate epidemiological containment…