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JOHANNESBURG, March 16 (Reuters) – A worker at AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi gold mine in Ghana tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, the company said, the second known case of the virus at a mine site in Africa.
AngloGold Ashanti said operations at the Obuasi mine, where gold production is ramping up, would continue.
The infected employee – a Ghanaian who lives in mine accommodation and had recently returned from Britain – is in self-isolation. AngloGold Ashanti said it is working with Ghana’s ministry of health to trace all contacts.
Non-essential staff will work remotely until further notice and any arriving travellers will be subject to a mandatory two-week self-quarantine, the company said.
“Anglogold Ashanti Ghana remains in a state of high alert and preparedness to deal with the global challenge presented by the COVID-19 outbreak,” the company said.
Ghana has so far reported six cases of the novel coronavirus. On Monday, Tanzania, Liberia, Benin, and Somalia confirmed their first cases of the virus that has spread to 30 African countries.
Endeavour Mining earlier reported a worker at its Houndé mine in Burkina Faso got coronavirus, also after a trip to Britain. (Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by David Clarke)
