In accordance with the provisions and recommendations established by the national health authority, as well as its own, Blumar has timely implemented control measures to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, work led by its
Occupational Safety and Health team.

The Contingency Plan has been developed with a focus on protecting the work team, their families and environment, in order to contribute to controlling this pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus and which has raised alerts worldwide.

“Our team of professionals has implemented a thorough plan that distinguishes specific measures by geographic areas, also taking into account the distinction by aquaculture and fishing sectors and general measures for the administrative plant, reinforcing teams with health professionals, launching an internal awareness communication campaign, enabling an 800 line for consultations and monitoring of suspected cases, as well as restricting travel and meetings, among others”, highlighted Blumar’s General Manager, Gerardo Balbontín.

Specifically, the company has implemented an entry protocol in all facilities and work centers that includes a preventive health check. Upon entry, temperature is recorded for workers and visitors. If a possible Coronavirus infection is detected, it will be referred for treatment. Inside each plant, preventive hygiene measures have been taken such as fumigation, surface sanitization, distribution of hand sanitizer and masks.

For administrative personnel, Blumar has determined to promote the use of Telework or Working from home, as well as shift work, in order to minimize as much as possible contact between people. This mechanism has been organized by giving authority to the different departments to implement it appropriately in their areas, prioritizing people’s health and providing maximum operational continuity.

By areas
Due to the complexity and diversity of operations that Blumar has, specific measures have been determined.

For the Fishing Area in Talcahuano (Bahía Fleet, Flour Plants, Mackerel Plant, Rocuant), a team was set up with four health professionals to monitor entry, in addition to general sanitization. In case a person shows symptoms, the entire crew will go into preventive quarantine and the ship will freeze its operations for 14 days.

In the case of the plants, entries and exits of people will be staggered to avoid crowding.

For the Salmon Area Talcahuano (Processing Plant and Administration Building), there is an entry protocol with preventive check-up. Additionally, a special 14-day absence authorization was determined for working mothers who no longer have daycare due to temporary closure.

Meanwhile, in the Salmon Areas of Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas, office sanitization measures were adopted on a permanent basis and telework. For the Salmon Area Farming Centers, the protocol was activated with health professionals who perform preventive check-ups for entries and exits of shifts to the farming centers and which necessarily go through the Punta Arenas office.

Temperature and vital signs control points were implemented for passenger boarding to the centers (Aysén, Chacabuco, Melinka, Punta Arenas) to prevent contagion, in case it occurs, in parallel with compliance with the respective quarantines
according to internal protocol under development, personnel redistribution from the centers will be avoided to minimize possible infections.

With all these measures and others that will emerge and/or be updated based on the development of the health emergency in the country and in response to what national authorities request, Blumar hopes to responsibly contribute to controlling this
pandemic and thus avoid the impact it may have on the entire population.