Canal operator lives come first says Administrator

 
1,331Views 2Comments Posted 06/04/2020

Most of the 20 Panama Canal workers infected with COVID-19 are employed in the operations area says  Canal Authority (ACP),  Administrator Ricaurte ásquez

Of the 20  cases, 15 are in home isolation and 5 are hospitalized. " I said to the workers: that if  there is no business, we can recover it, that if a ship did not pass we can recover it, but if an operator  dies we cannot recover hi, " said Vásquez,  in a TVN News  interview

The ACP has taken labor and health measures to avoid further contagion, said the Administrator.

“ We are respecting the health standards. We are working in an unusual way because this situation is unusual (…) Our responsibility is to maintain the operation [of the Canal] and the responsibility for the health of the collaborators,” said Vásquez, who applauded the ACP workers, because "they have the discipline and understand the responsibility that falls on each one ."

Vásquez said  that the transits through the Panama Canal continue but the economic impact will be felt in the months of  April and May.

" The shipping companies have adjusted routes and when the price of fuel falls, it makes them look at using longer routes, " said Vásquez.

The transit of cruise ships, and container ships carrying cars, have decreased.  " We must be prepared for a situation of lower economic growth and will depend on the clients of our clients, " said Vásquez, who added that the movement of products in Asia is largely linked to its buyers in the United States.

Raw materials, such as food, are going to be moving, because"they are basic needs and it is a demand that will hardly be reduced ."