2.1. Gazprom Group’s Expenditures on the Prevention of the Spread of COVID-19

In 2020, the Gazprom Group and the entire world faced the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our key task during this period was to protect our employees and help local communities in the areas of the Company’s operations.

As part of the efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19, the Gazprom Group purchased 15 lung ventilators, 61 oxygen concentrators, 5 ambulance and intensive care cars, and opened 20 fixed-site and mobile laboratoriesInformation on subsidiaries and entities engaged in the core operations.

Given the high incidence of the coronavirus and the lockdown restrictions, Gazprom’s management introduced a number of additional measures related to changes in corporate governance, COVID-19 response expenditures, and ensuring protection of employees and business continuity. The pandemic also made an impact on our stakeholder engagement mechanisms and on the progress of sustainable development initiatives.

As of December 31, 2020, a total of 45,496 cases of COVID-19 were recorded among the employees of PJSC Gazprom, the Gazprom Group companies, and major Group investees at all levels, with 147 deathsThe monitoring included COVID-19 cases confirmed by the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor).

The additional expenditures associated with the efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the budgets of the Gazprom Group’s entities for 2020 amounted to about RUB 22 billion. Approximately RUB 5 billion out of this amount was spent on purchasing personal protective equipment (face masks, gloves, disinfectants, etc.), RUB 4 billion was used to establish observation units at shift personnel camps (rent of premises, meal arrangements, etc.), and about RUB 13 billion was spent on purchasing services for testing personnel, disinfection of facilities, and other measures.