Hydro signed an agreement with the state government on April 2 that supports construction and maintenance of the new field hospitals as part of emergency measures to fight the pandemic in the region.

According to the authorities, the accommodations will be divided into four regions with high concentrations of population: the state capital Belém and the cities of Marabá, Santarém and Breves, on the island of Marajó.

“We have established a proactive dialogue with the authorities in order to collaborate in all spheres. As much as the health and safety of our employees, family members and contractors are our priorities, we are also committed to supporting the collective effort to prevent dissemination,” says John Thuestad, Executive Vice President in Hydro.

Hydro has carried out several initiatives to fight the spread of the virus in the communities where it operates.

Combatting Covid-19

On March 22, Hydro made a commitment to supply mineral water to a government shelter for vulnerable people at the Mangueirão Stadium in Belém. The first shipment was made with the donation of 51,000 liters of water.

More recently, Albras, a company owned by Hydro and Nippon Amazon Aluminium Co., donated a building to the city of Barcarena in Pará. The 4,000-square-meter building used to be an employee residence and has 36 apartments with individual bathrooms, a laundry and cafeteria, so that a field hospital can be set up to reinforce temporary care for possible cases of contamination by Covid-19 in the municipality. The municipal administration will carry out adaptations in the building, as well as the installation of the necessary equipment for the operation of the hospital.

In addition, on April 1 Hydro's Community Environmental Emergency Brigade began to provide awareness on actions to prevent and combat Covid-19, operating in nine communities in the municipality of Barcarena. The information is disseminated through the Brigade’s sound-equipped cars. The information seeks to minimize the risk of spreading the disease in the municipality.

Other initiatives are being studied by the company in dialogue with the municipalities where Hydro operates, and the needs indicated by the dialogues with community leaders and the contingency plans of each location.

“In these challenging times it is more important than ever that we act as a good neighbor, and collaborate with and support our local communities,” says Elise Must, Hydro’s global head of corporate social responsibility.