A/HRC/45/12 unacceptable pressure on their employees to work. Workers were placed at grave and foreseeable risk of exposure, where they were obligated to work in unsafe working environments, lacking personal protective equipment and measures for social distancing. For example, COVID-19 outbreaks have gravely affected workers in the food industry. Evidence also shows that in some countries, the rate of COVID-19 cases among mining workers is at least twice that found among workers in various other industries. 55. An alarming number of front-line workers were not given adequate protection during peak periods of contagion in various countries and economic sectors, with businesses failing dismally to take proper screening and isolation measures to protect their workers. In particular, workers who belonged to a minority group, were older, were migrants, were women, had low incomes, had pre-existing health conditions and/or worked in the informal sector or the gig economy were not adequately protected.47 Too often, they have been arbitrarily categorized as “essential” for mere economic reasons rather than to guarantee basic services. While businesses may be willing to apply the hierarchy of controls for toxic chemicals, some seem unwilling to recognize that the hierarchy also applies in situations of infectious disease, such as COVID-19. 56. The inability to secure personal protective equipment for health-care workers was emblematic of the depth of the failure to prepare and adequately invest in health care to protect not only the brave and selfless health-care workers, but through them also the broader community. In some countries, medical staff are still reporting significant shortages of basic protective equipment, such as masks, goggles, surgical gowns and gloves, not to mention respirators and equipment for intensive care. Remarkably, some middle-income countries were supplying excess masks and gowns to some of the wealthiest countries in the world. Medical and sanitary staff also reported a lack of training in dealing with such a pandemic. 57. Some businesses have been remarkable in prioritizing the health of their workers in the midst of the crisis, which is commendable. Deplorable, however, are those businesses that seem concerned only with profit and revenue, disregarding worker safety and health in their operations and supply chains. In many communities, the spread of COVID-19 was driven by contagion among workers. 58. All workers, including those deemed essential, have the right to remove themselves from situations they believe are hazardous, 48 which is contingent on the availability of information about the known and unknown risks of the substance or disease to which they are exposed at work. States’ obligations with regard to protecting workers must be emphasized, for it is the State’s duty to ensure that all workers have safe and healthy working conditions, whether they are an emergency doctor or a supply-chain worker. International Labour Organization estimates suggest that testing and tracing for COVID-19 is strongly associated with lower labour market disruption and can help to reduce workinghour losses by as much as 50 per cent.49 3. Older persons 59. Early in the pandemic, it became clear, unsurprisingly, that COVID-19 is particularly lethal in older persons. 50 The biological vulnerability of older persons, combined with care and support needs or housing in high-risk facilities, created tragic situations for families around the world. Heart-wrenching tales proliferate of families unable to say goodbye to loved ones trapped in isolation, who tragically died alone. 60. The failure of numerous States to provide the protection necessary for the elderly is inexplicable. An immunity theory leaving the virus to circulate among society is a certain 47 48 49 50 Ibid. See also www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Migration/CMWSPMJointGuidanceNoteCOVID19Migrants.pdf. See the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) of the International Labour Organization. See www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/briefingnote/ wcms_745963.pdf. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25748. 13