HOUSTON — Five workers on an offshore platform operated by Shell have tested positive for COVID-19. Four others on that platform in the Gulf of Mexico have symptoms, Shell confirms.
Seven of the nine have already been evacuated by helicopters to hospitals onshore. The other two will be airlifted sometime Wednesday, according to a Shell spokeswoman.
They won’t comment on their condition due to privacy concerns.
These are the first infections involving Shell workers in the Gulf of Mexico since the pandemic began, Shell told CBS News correspondent David Benaud.
The company, with headquarters in Houston, says it’s now testing all workers before they’re flown offshore. The testing started on May 20 and the first positive test was confirmed on May 23, Begnaud reports.
Shell,operates nine offshore platforms in the Gulf.
About 160 people work on the platform with coronavirus cases.
In a statement, Shell said they are reducing personnel there to “minimum staffing levels.”
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