COVID cluster continues to grow at Trans Mountain site near Valemount

The number of lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 at a Trans Mountain pipeline worksite has jumped to 30 from 16 earlier in the week.

Of those, Northern Health says26 are active at this time. Trans Mountain says about 40 close contacts of those infected are in isolation.

The health agency says it is not declaring an outbreak, which is reservedfor situations where extraordinary containment measures are required.

Unlike the situation at Site Cwhere anew outbreak was declared on Aug. 16, it saysthe majority of the infections at Trans Mountain do not appear to have been from onsite transmission.

Trans Mountain says it is implementing additional measures to manage the COVID cluster, including more rapid testing, reinstating mask mandates for those in close contact and implementing increased sanitation procedures.

Public health investigations are ongoing, according toNorthern Health, which said itwas unable to comment at this time on whether the nearby community of Valemount, B.C., has been impacted.

Trans Mountain says it isworking with itscontractors and Northern Health to gather information on how many workers are vaccinated.