Chile’s State-controlled Codelco copper miner said on Saturday it will suspend construction projects in the northern part of the country and try to maintain production at its Chuquicamata mine while staffing the operation with local personnel.
The company issued a statement saying its was taking the measures to guard against the spread of the coronavirus after the government reported an increase in virus-related deaths earlier on Saturday.
Amid an effort to reorganise its much-criticized reporting of virus-related deaths, the government increased its estimated number of fatal cases to more than 7 000 from a previously confirmed 4 265.