Active cases of COVID-19 in Fort McMurray exceed 30

PHOTO. A dump truck works near the Syncrude oil sands extraction facility near the city of Fort McMurray, Alta., on June 1, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

The province reported five new cases and two recoveries of COVID-19 in Fort McMurray in the last 24 hours.

There are 31 active cases of the illness and 83 recoveries within the urban service area.

There are still no active cases and 60 recovered cases of COVID-19 outside the urban service area.

RELATED: Alberta reports over 100 total cases of COVID-19 in Fort McMurray

Syncrude confirmed ties to six workers who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week.

Spokesperson Will Gibson said assistance from Alberta Health Services in contact tracing is ongoing.

“The workers are all following our protocols. Although the investigation is ongoing, we have no information to date to indicate that these cases were contacted at our workplace.”

Gibson said Syncrude staff and the chief medical health officer continue to work with AHS for all potential close contacts.

He provided an example of their tracing strategy.

“If you’re on a commuter bus going from Fort McMurray or other parts of the region to Site, we will have the names of the people on that bus. So that if you were deemed to be a close contact, then that’s a determination AHS would make, then we would be contacting you.”

Gibson said the safety of workers and their families is Syncrude’s top priority.

In the last 24 hours, there are 164 new cases and two additional deaths linked to COVID-19 across Alberta.

The province has 1398 active cases, 241 deaths, and 12,427 resolved cases of the illness.

50 Albertans are currently in hospital receiving treatment, including 10 in intensive care.

Dr Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, will provide her next report on Sept. 3, 2020.