Employee tests positive for COVID-19 at New Afton mine near Kamloops

An employee at the New Afton mine west of Kamloops has tested positive for COVID-19.

The gold and copper mine was made aware of the positive test on Jan. 25, according to a New Afton media release, and the employee is not currently on site.

The mine's emergency response team initiated contact tracing and all affected areas have been sanitized.

New Afton says it considers the investigation complete and any close contacts to the individual are self-isolating for 14 days.

New Afton Mine does not say whether the positive case is connected to the previous four cases in December, but it does say it has implemented multiple preventative measures since March 2020, including mandatory wearable contact tracing devices since Dec. 15.

"The health and safety of employees, contractors and visitors continues to be our number one priority," reads the release.

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