COVID-19 outbreak declared at mink farm in B.C.’s Fraser Valley

Health officials have declared a COVID-19 outbreak at a mink farm in B.C.’s Fraser Valley.

In a media release Sunday night, Fraser Health said eight people at the farm had tested positive, and that it was screening employees and contact tracing.

Affected staff were self-isolating, it said.

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The health authority did not identify the community or the farm.

A spokesperson for the health authority said “the information bulletin is all we have to share at this time,” when asked for more specific information.

In Denmark, government officials ordered the culling of 17 million mink after scientists discovered a strain of the novel coronavirus had passed from humans to mink, then back to humans in mutated form in October.

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Spain and the Netherlands have culled mink due to similar outbreaks, and cases have also been identified on mink farms in the United States.

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It was not immediately clear if any of the mink at the farm were infected. The Ministry of Agriculture is testing animals on site, the health authority said.

The farm has been ordered to stop transporting animals, products and goods from the farm under the BC Animal Health Act, Fraser Health added.

WorkSafeBC is contacting other mink farms to discuss requirements under their COVID-19 safety plans, it said.