Production activity at the diamond-mining operations in Yakutia and the Arkhangelsk region is continuing as usual.
The following measures are being taken due to the pandemic threat:
- All business trips abroad are cancelled, while business trips in Russia are carried out only if absolutely necessary;
- Rapid response committees have been set up in all of the company's structural units, branches and representative offices;
- Measures are being taken to prevent personnel with fever and symptoms of respiratory illness from going to work;
- The number of external and internal gatherings is minimized, negotiations and meetings are switched to audio and video conferencing;
- Visitor access to the company is limited;
- The company has introduced a 14 day self-isolation rule for employees returning from abroad;
- HR department started collecting information on employees and job applicants, including those on rotation, who arrived or plan to arrive from abroad after March 1. Foreign trips of employees’ family members are noted as well;
- All corporate events, including sporting events, have been postponed till further notice; the Training Centre suspended all offline training activities and began to convert a number of courses to online;
- Remote working option provided for employees in some divisions, including for those who are healthy but stay on self-isolation regime;
- Internal communication activity is enforced, with establishment of a call-center to answer frequently asked questions and distribution of recommendations on the prevention of infectious diseases;
- The use of non-personal breathalyzers at industrial sites has been limited;
- ALROSA procures necessary protective and disinfecting materials and equipment, including sanitizers and disposable gloves, with enforced cleaning and disinfection of all offices, administrative and accommodation premises on a regular basis;
- In collaboration with ALROSA Medical Center all passengers arriving at the Mirny airport are checked for fever, with disinfection of aircrafts and public spaces enforced.
"People's health and safety is our main value and we unconditionally support measures taken by federal and regional authorities to limit the spread of COVID-19," said CEO of ALROSA Sergey Ivanov. “The spread of the pandemic and the measures implemented around the world to curb it create a situation of global uncertainty. In these circumstances, we are doing our best to protect our employees, customers and residents in the regions where we operate”.
To support its long-term customers in the current situation, ALROSA in March reduced the limit of mandatory purchases to 50% of contracted volumes with an opportunity to delay buying of up to 10% until the end of May. With travel restrictions imposed around the world, ALROSA is holding an online auction of special-sized (over 10.8 carats) diamonds from March 23 to April 6.
