Pemex says 232 workers have died of COVID-19

Posted: Jul 15, 2020 / 05:49 PM GMT-0600 / Updated: Jul 15, 2020 / 05:49 PM GMT-0600

General view of the Tula refinery as part of the fuel crisis after an explosion in a pipeline belonging to Mexican Public Oil Company Pemex on January 22, 2019 in Tula, Mexico. This refinery is one of the most important in the center of the country and is located less than 10 km from where the gas pipeline exploded. In a statement, PEMEX announced that the explosion was caused by the illegal manipulation of the pipeline, as minutes before the accident videos were shot where people could be seen filling drums and car fuel tanks. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — More than 200 workers at Mexico’s state-run oil company have died from COVID-19 and a total of 4,119 have tested positive for the disease.

Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said in a statement that 232 of its workers have succumbed to COVID-19 as have 230 family members, 301 retired employees and five contractors.

Tank trucks at a Pemex fuel distribution plant. (photo courtesy Pemex)

Pemex said it has investigated 14,151 suspicious cases and administered 7,020 coronavirus tests. Of those, 2,901 came back negative. The company maintains obligations to 750,000 employees, retired workers and their dependents.

In its statement, Pemex said its workers are “our most valuable asset” and maintains that the spread of the disease among its employees has been contained.

Pemex operated several gasoline refineries in Central Mexico and one in Monterrey, which is the nearest to the U.S. border. It also supplies thousands of gas stations throughout the country.

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