Alberta has reported an outbreak of COVID-19 at an oil sands project north of town.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw said that there are three confirmed cases at Kearl Lake. Six additional people have been tested and are currently isolating as they wait for their test results.
Hinshaw said Alberta Health Services is working with the company to implement outbreak procedures at the site and minimize any risk of transmission of the virus.
Mayor Don Scott said in a statement that he was concerned to learn about the outbreak.
“The health and well-being of those who live and work in our region remains my paramount concern. I believe that public awareness of cases in our region will help us respond appropriately. We have been advocating for more transparent and detailed information regarding cases in our region — the disclosure of these cases is a step in the right direction.”
Director of Emergency Management, Scott Davis added that since modelling shows Alberta will reach its peak in mid-May, we can expect to see an increase of cases in our region.
He said the news is troubling to hear, but that the municipality is well positioned to deal with these cases.
Province-wide there are an additional 126 cases, bringing the total to 1,996, with no additional deaths.
Hinshaw noted a data centre outage, which has shut down the data feed from the provincial lab.
Because of the outage, complete data is expected to be a part of the province’s Thursday update.
“We recognize that many Albertans are interested in the daily COVID-19 data, and appreciate your patience.”
Premier Jason Kenney said Alberta is still testing at a higher rate than the other provinces and, with 2,853 tests being completed in the last day alone, 82,534 Albertans have been tested for COVID-19.
A total of 44 people are hospitalized with the virus, 10 of which are in ICU.
