B.C. workers returning from Alberta oil sands project required to self-isolate

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has issued an alert for workers returning to the province from the Kearl Lake oil sands project in Alberta.

Workers returning from the site are required to self-isolate for 14 days due to possible exposure to COVID-19.

The Kearl Lake oil sands project is being treated as an outbreak site, according to a media release issued today, May 4. Anyone who has been on the site since March 24 may have been exposed to the virus.

Workers may be travelling back and forth to the site for essential work and are required to self-isolate for 14 days every time they return to B.C. Workers are expected to follow the British Columbia orders in spite of advice offered by Kearl Lake employers.

There have been 15 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in B.C. among Kearl Lake workers, with one presumed case among a person who was at the site and reported symptoms without being tested.

Eight more laboratory-confirmed cases and two presumed cases have been reported among British Columbians who weren’t at Kearl Lake but had contact with a worker.

Cases with Kearl Lake origins have been reported in Interior Health, Northern Health and Vancouver Island Health regions.

Workers and their families should monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and, should symptoms develop, however mild, maintain self-isolation and contact their healthcare provider or 8-1-1 to get tested. Symptoms included fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat or painful swallowing, runny or stuffy nose, loss of sense of smell, headaches muscle aches, fatigue and loss of appetite.

It is considered crucial workers, their families and close contacts be tested if they develop symptoms.

Further instructions on how to self-isolate can be found here.

To find a testing centre location, see this website.

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