COVID-19 HITS AMFELS, BUT NO, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN HERE...

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

For weeks there had been rumors circulating the AmFels yard that a worker  and even two office employees had come down with COVID-19.

Throughout that time, management denied it and kept people working.

But reality set in soon enough and the workers' feats were soon realized when they received a letter from Mohamed Sahlan Ben Salleh, president of Keppel AmFels on April 15, that is, yesterday.

The letter assures the workers that the employee "was not symptomatic in the yard." Also, that his last day before showing symptoms was Friday March 27" when he left work for home.

Conveniently for Bin Salleh, he claims that the after spending that weekend with his family, the employee started with signs and symptoms when he awoke on March 30..."

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the victim may exhibit symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath 2 to 14 days after exposure. AmFels asserts that the employee obviously did not catch the disease while on their property, but the incubation period required to exhibit the symptoms indicates it could be otherwise since his last day was on Friday and he woke up on Monday, less that three days later, already sick.

And why did AmFels take two weeks to alert the workers that someone had come down with the virus more than 14 days before? 

Workers there have been reaching out to social media  to alert them that a supervisor had told them that two office staff had come down with the virus and that another was working on a boat but could not elaborate because he feared for his employment.

The AmFels letter stated that the company had alerted the Cameron County Health Dept. to the case. But based on the lag between the positive finding and the letter (more than two weeks), we wonder whether their report to the health authorities was timely or whether they allowed the contagion to fester as they scrambled to concoct a convenient cover for their recalcitrance to let people know of the potential danger.

And, in a show of largess, AmFels says that is a worker chooses to self quarantine, they are required to "use sick leave, vacation, or leave of absence, but must notify their supervisor, HR or lease labor company."

In case of a mandated quarantine by a physician, AmFels will pay the worker's salary for 14 days , the letter states. Employees who test positive - or their family members - and must be quarantined, will be paid 14 days by the company.