Alberta’s chief medical officer of health declared an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Horizon oilsands work camp in Fort McMurray, operated by Canadian Natural Resources, on Wednesday.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw said five cases have been confirmed, which prompts public disclosure of the outbreak.
“There have been five confirmed cases linked to the camp and the operator is working closely with Alberta Health Services to limit the spread,” she said.
“We are announcing this outbreak today as it has met the threshold of five cases. When there are one or two cases at a particular work site, that isn’t considered to be proof of transmission at that work site and therefore the public disclosure waits until five cases where it does seem that there has been on-site transmission.
“Testing is being offered to all employees, including those without symptoms and I’m confident the spread can be contained on this site as all measures are being taken to do this,” Hinshaw said.
In a statement issued to Global News on Wednesday night, CNRL said the confirmed cases are people “who work for our service providers at the Horizon site.”
The company said it was notified on May 2 that someone working for one of its service providers had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. CNRL said after the worker finished a shift on April 28, they went home and started to show symptoms, prompting CNRL to begin contact-tracing efforts and implementing isolation protocols. The company said it also told AHS about close contacts that would need to be tested.
“This process resulted in identifying three close contacts working with the same service provider who have tested positive,” CNRL said. “These individuals were all working for the same maintenance service provider and were on the same shift as the initial case from May 2.
“All individuals are not on site as they either became symptomatic while off site, or were immediately isolated as per our protocols.”
Prior to those cases, CNRL said it was notified that someone “working for our camp services provider at Horizon was confirmed as testing positive on April 29.”
Hinshaw said she spoke with oilsands operators earlier this week.
“We had a conversation about the kinds of things that can be done in advance of having any cases, the prompt response when someone is sick on one of those camps, and then expectations around the management of cases and, in the event of an outbreak, what would be expected.
“I think the operators of these camps are all aware of the recommendations and guidance that we have from the ministry as well as very detailed, specific guidance from Alberta Health Services, including how to contact AHS if they should have cases or suspect cases.
“From the one larger outbreak we had at Kearl Lake, and now this smaller outbreak with five cases at the CNRL Horizon camp — the companies have been absolutely willing to work with us at the ministry, with AHS, and are working closely together with us to make sure measures are being put in place.”
CNRL described measures it is taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at its work sites as being “significant.”
“For our air and ground transportation, groups are kept at a size where an appropriate physical distance between individuals can be established,” the company said. “Flight times have been adjusted to reduce the number of people at our aerodromes and on board planes at any given time.
“Passengers on buses and planes are required to sit with empty seats between them. All passengers on company flights and buses are required to wear a face covering/mask, either provided by the company or using their own personal mask.”
CNRL added that to access the Horizon site by air or bus, people are put through a pre-screening process that includes a review of their travel history and taking their temperatures.
“We have also enhanced cleaning and sanitizing of flight terminals, aerodromes, planes and buses between services,” the company said. “In our work camps, we have created more physical space by removing seating in the dining halls, as well as placing marks on the floor for lineups.
“The frequency has increased in dining room areas for cleaning and sanitization before, during and after meals. Items are being served by camp staff or provided in prepackages.”
While at the site or at camp facilities, workers are required to wear face masks when working with others. CNRL added that it has “medical personnel on site to complete health assessments and work together with Alberta Health Services.”
Hinshaw said thousands of people are going in and out of these camps on a regular basis. At the Kearl Lake site, there have been 107 cases over about six weeks.
“I think that it’s a testament to the work being done to reduced spread.”
Despite there only being five cases at Horizon, Hinshaw said extensive testing is being done.
“But I think there are lots of measures that have already been put in place and additional ones that go in place when a case is identified. I think that work is bearing fruit in the limiting of spread that we’re seeing there.”
“We have hundreds of oil field camps across the province and I’m aware of two outbreaks now,” Premier Jason Kenney added.
“Let’s keep this in perspective. This is not a growing number of camps. This is very limited.”
–With files from Global News’ Phil Heidenreich
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