Activities related to COVID-19

Information about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, first emerged out of China at the end of 2019. The virus spread around the world in the first months of 2020, and its negative effects escalated. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted the economic and administrative system in Poland and placed major restrictions on economic activity, affected the Group's business and results in 2020.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, JSW Group has undertaken a host of preventive activities aimed at improving employee safety and preventing the spread of the disease, and has implemented an emergency plan for operational continuity. A Crisis Unit was established on 12 March 2020 with the basic objective to ensure safety and production continuity at JSW's facilities.

The Crisis Unit is monitoring threat levels on an on-going basis. It is analysing the current situation in terms of personnel availability, results of body temperature measurements, incidents, absences and employees being subject to quarantine. It is also monitoring the warehouse stock levels, orders, use and availability of anti-pandemic measures. It analyses mine output levels, coal shipments to customers and problems resulting from transport-related delays. It serves as an advisory body for mine directors in organising work and production processes. It recommends to the President of JSW's Management Board regulations appropriately to the current level of risk associated with the coronavirus.

The key activities undertaken include a change in working time at all JSW mines and the introduction, from 23 March 2020, of a three-shift work system instead of the regular four-shift system in order to maximally reduce contact between employees working different shifts. Directors are authorised to decide on how work is organised at their mines, depending on the present pandemic threat. These activities include:

  • a temporary limit was placed on access to JSW premises for third parties,
  • remote work was introduced,
  • the work of filing offices was reduced,
  • travel to workshops, courses, conferences, etc. was halted,
  • JSW facilities received bactericides and virucides,
  • sanitising spray curtains were installed at the facilities,
  • inspections of sanitary conditions were ramped up,
  • disinfection of rooms, shaft cages, vehicles and communication equipment was introduced,
  • a ban on work by employees who had not worked at a given facility in the past 14 days was introduced in the period until 31 July 2020,
  • a requirement was introduced for service providers and suppliers to use only healthy and uninfected personnel,
  • guidelines were developed - operational procedures for JSW's mining facilities for handling actual or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection cases. The procedures were submitted to the State Poviat Sanitary Inspectorates where JSW operates, the opinions of which were incorporated into the final versions of the procedures,
  • more than 25 000 screening tests were administered for JSW employees,
  • in response to an order from the Silesia State Voivodship Sanitary Inspectorate and in accordance with the findings of the Silesia Voivodship Crisis Management Team, more than 42 000 swab screening tests for JSW employees were administered; a total of more than 43 500 screening tests have so far been performed for JSW employees,
  • Support Teams were established with the intention to provide assistance to the State Poviat Sanitary Inspectorates and the infected people in order to efficiently bring them back to work,
  • in preparation for another wave of infections, support was provided to hospitals in the regions (Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Rybnik, Knurów, Wodzisław Śląski, Racibórz) and the Interior and Administration Ministry's temporary hospital in Katowice by mine rescuers with first aid qualifications and other employees with paramedic training.

The Group is implementing and participating in numerous campaigns and initiatives intended to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, including:

Support for hospitals in fight against COVID-19

From the very emergence of the epidemic threat in Poland, JSW Group and JSW Foundation have been actively helping hospitals in the region. JSW Foundation's Board and Founder - the Management Board of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa S.A. - decided to assign nearly PLN 2 million to support hospitals in the fight against the pandemic, the highest amount in the history of our charitable endeavours. This money was used to buy equipment and personal hygiene and protection articles.

Hospitals that received aid include:

  • Regional Hospital in Racibórz
  • Voivodship Hospital in Tychy
  • Voivodship Specialist Hospital no. 2 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój
  • City Hospital in Wodzisław Śląski
  • Voivodship Specialist Hospital no. 5 - Trauma Centre in Sosnowiec
  • Silesian Oncology Centre at Specialist Hospital in Dąbrowa Górnicza
  • Healthcare Centres in Cieszyn
  • City Hospital in Zabrze
  • Centrum Przedsiębiorczości CP sp. z o.o., based in Wola – Poviat Hospital in Pszczyna
  • Upper Silesia Child Health Centre JP II - Independent Public Clinical Hospital no. 6 at the Silesian Medical University in Katowice.

Ventilators for hospitals in the region

Aside from direct donations to hospitals, JSW Foundation decided to support the #WdzięczniMedykom campaign organised by Caritas Polska. Nearly PLN 1 million was donated to this cause. The money was used to purchase 30 ventilators that were given to 12 hospitals and medical sites in: Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Racibórz, Knurów, Mikołów, Pszczyna, Żory, Wodzisław Śląski, Tychy, Orzesz, Cieszyn, Rybnik and Będzin.  This equipment manufactured by a renowned British firm was successively delivered between May and July 2020.

JSW Group's IT experts in fight against COVID-19

JSW IT Systems in collaboration with JSW supported the sanitary services in fighting against COVID-19. A system was developed for processing large volumes of documents for the Poviat Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Tychy.

JSW IT Systems provided computer equipment essential for epidemiologists in daily work to the Poviat Sanitary and Epidemiological Stations in Wodzisław Śląski and Rybnik. The employees of JSW IT Systems provided data processing support.

30 modern ventilators from JSW and Caritas Polska

11 hospitals in the Silesian voivodship received 30 ventilators thanks to JSW joining the #WdzięczniMedykom campaign organised by Caritas Polska. The purchase of ventilators was possible thanks to JSW Foundation, which donated nearly PLN 1 million to the campaign.

JSW Foundation's entire donation was used by Caritas Polska to purchase 30 British ventilators, which are well regarded by Polish medics. The ventilators were successively delivered to hospitals in 11 cities: Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Racibórz, Knurów, Mikołów, Pszczyna, Żory, Wodzisław Śląski, Tychy, Orzesz, Cieszyn and Rybnik.

Hospital laboratory funded by JSW

A modern laboratory workshop was officially opened in a hospital in Wodzisław Śląski, Rydułtowy. Its equipment will allow rapid and precise tests for SARS-COV-2 and other biological pathogens. The workshop was created with help from Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa.

JSW financed the purchase of a complete analyser set and laminar chamber for molecular detection of pathogen DNA. The company provided PLN 330 thousand in funding. JSW Foundation contributed PLN 50 thousand.

Speed is a major advantage of the modern equipment delivered to the hospital laboratory. A single procedure takes between 30 and 60 minutes. Molecular technology makes it possible to reduce the likelihood of a diagnostics error to a minimum.

JSW provides equipment for field blood donation centre

In August, JSW Foundation made a PLN 49.5 thousand donation to the Regional Blood Centre in Racibórz to purchase equipment, which went to the Centre's field branch in Jastrzębie-Zdrój.

This included four specialist chairs for collecting plasma, a laptop for the blood collection section and a stationary welder with cabling.

The equipment was officially delivered during a collection campaign for blood and COVID-19 convalescent plasma. Blood inventories always shrink in the summer, and now the coronavirus pandemic is an additional problem. Severe COVID-19 cases are given convalescent plasma containing antibodies, which is an opportunity for them to get better sooner. This is why Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa decided to join this campaign for the second time.

Mine rescue crew in fight against COVID-19

In connection with the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the second half of 2020, the government initiated the construction of temporary hospitals. At the end of November, one of them was set up at the International Conference Centre in Katowice. Securing the equipment and, more importantly, personnel was of critical significance.

Having received information on the search for people willing to work at the temporary hospitals, JSW made available over 230 employees with first aid training. 50 rescue workers from JSW were supposed to work at the temporary hospital in Katowice every week. Mine rescuers are a specific group of people who are able to handle even the most difficult situations. The cost of work of the delegated rescuers was covered by JSW, while the National Health Fund provided lodging and food (the rescuers in Katowice were to work in 7-day cycles 12 hours per day). JSW rescuers also worked as volunteers in other places: support for emergency rooms was also requested by hospitals in Mikołów, Knurów and Jastrzębie-Zdrój.

Delegating the mine rescuers did not reduce the safety of those working at the company's facilities. JSW Group employs approx. 500 qualified rescuers.

COVID-19 medicine thanks to JSW miners

The outbreak of COVID-19 was an unprecedented event for the entire world. It surprised everyone, paralysing the healthcare systems and economies of many countries. The pandemic's first wave, which was very mild in Poland, unfortunately affected mines, including JSW's mines, which became sources of infections. Nonetheless, because of professional requirements, miners are people in good health and they went through COVID-19 smoothly. The infected soon became convalescents.

Convalescent miners decided to respond to blood centres' appeals by donating plasma. Doctors emphasise that the transfusion of convalescent plasma is a method that has been around for many years. So far, this method was successfully applied in treating patients with EBOLA, SARS-CoV, H1N1 and H5N1. Miners especially got involved in supporting Lublin-based Biomed, which was working on a COVID-19 medicine based on plasma. To be able to produce it, the company needed a very large volume of convalescent plasma. The drug's first batch was produced in September. The medicine was created using plasma mainly from JSW convalescents. Out of the 150 litres of plasma collected, more than 100 litres came from convalescent miners at JSW.

But JSW's convalescent miners did not stop there. Many of them have been donating blood for years. They are even more involved in that in the COVID-19 era, especially the convalescents. JSW employees who have gone through the coronavirus donated their plasma even after the first batch of Biomed's medicine was produced. Plasma was and still is needed to treat patients. The most recent such campaign took place on Miners Day (27-28 November 2020). During that campaign 600 donors donated 190 litres of blood and 56 litres of plasma.