Offshore oil platforms located in the middle of the ocean, provide a perfect storm for COVID-19: limited medical facilities, great distances from shore, and cramped quarters and bunks similar to a battleship.
There are anywhere from 15,000 to 16,000 people working on hundreds of manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and thousands of offshore facilities at any one time. The platforms are like small cities, with up to 200 people on each.
Unfortunately, drillers can’t telecommute.
