COVID-19 outbreak declared over at Coastal Gas Link work sites
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Northern Health has declared an end to the COVID-19 outbreak at two workforce accommodation sites on the Coastal Gas Link (CGL) project.
There have been no new cases reported in association with the outbreak that was first declared on December 19th.
In total, 56 laboratory-confirmed cases were associated with the outbreak at 7 Mile Lodge and Little Rock Lake Lodge.
All of the cases have since recovered and have completed their required self-isolation.
This will be the final update regarding this outbreak.
Pipeline project construction. (File)
The outbreak, which was declared on December 19th, had 56 lab-confirmed cases in total.
The cases were associated with the outbreaks at 7 Mile Lodge in the Burns Lake Local Health Area and Little Rock Lake Lodge in Nechako Local Health Area.
According to a release from Northern Health, all cases have since recovered, and their required self-isolation has been completed.
Northern Health, the BC Centre for Disease Control, WorksafeBC, and industry have been working together on planning and implementing COVID-19 measures since the spring. This work continues, including with CGL and its prime contractors, to ensure enhanced control measures are followed to protect employees’ health and the communities where they live and work.
The independent erosion and sediment control auditor hired by the company must submit a plan for monitoring compliance with the order by Feb. 4 and provide reports every two weeks to the Environmental Assessment Office starting Feb. 15. Those reports will not be reviewed by Coastal GasLink, the order stipulates.
The company was also ordered to pay a $10,000 inspection fee.
The inspections, which took place in late October and early November, focused on about 400 kilometres of the pipeline route north and west of Prince George. Compliance and enforcement officers visited sites in five of the project’s eight sections, stretching from Groundbirch in the province’s northeast to Endako, 70 kilometres west of Vanderhoof.
We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a written statement on Friday. There were 49 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the north, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic up to 2,387. The number of active cases in the Northern Health region remained at 438. A total of 42 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Northern Health region, including 20 in intensive care. Today, we are reporting 617 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 56,632 cases in British Columbia, Henry and Dix said. There are 6,118 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 358 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 75 of whom are in intensive care.
“We unequivocally support the recommendations of the Wet’suwet’en Ts’ako ze’ and Skiy ze’ in their letter to you on the widespread and deadly racism and discrimination experienced by Indigenous peoples in the health care system in B.C.,” the letter states. “As health professionals working on the frontlines, we see first hand the brunt of the devastation caused to communities by the dual public health emergencies of the climate crisis and COVID-19 pandemic which both disproportionately impact Indigenous communities.” The online support follows the release of a letter by Wet’suwet’en female leadership. On Nov. 30, Wet’suwet’en Ts’ako ze’ (female chiefs) and Skiyze’ (children and upcoming chiefs) wrote to Henry, about their concerns around the spread of COVID-19 in their communities.