Precautions against coronavirus implemented at Belarusian nuclear power plant construction site

MINSK, 8 April (BelTA) – The necessary measures have been implemented at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant to prevent a possible spread of the coronavirus infection, BelTA learned from the press service of ASE Company (the engineering division of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom).

ASE Company Vice President and director of the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction project Vitaly Polyanin said: “The situation is closely monitored. All the necessary measures are being taken to ensure the safety of the personnel at the construction site. All the specialists coming to work at the site have to take mandatory COVID-19 tests. All the specialists have means of individual protection.”

Sanitizers are installed at entrances of buildings and at gateways of the construction site. Measurements of body temperature are taken. “If people show acute respiratory disease symptoms, they are told to see the doctor while their passes for access to the construction site are blocked,” Vitaly Polyanin said. In his words, all these measures will allow detecting and preventing the spread of the virus infection in a timely manner.

Rosatom confirmed that 15 specialists, who came from the Russian Federation to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant, have been hospitalized with the coronavirus infection. The people they had been in contact with have been established. Those people have been isolated as well and have been tested for the coronavirus infection. Results are supposed to be ready soon.

The ASE Company press service noted that Rosatom takes every precaution to minimize the negative impact of the epidemiological crisis and honor the company's commitments to customers in full and within the time limits specified by the relevant contracts.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast using a Russian design featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. Rosatom's engineering division – ASE Company – is the general contractor. The first unit is supposed to go online in 2020, with the second one scheduled for launch in 2021.