Alberta worker at Diavik mine tests positive for COVID-19

An Alberta worker at the Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territorieshas tested positive for COVID-19, the territorial government says.

Alberta Precision Laboratories validated the test result, which was presumed to be positive on Thursday.

The individual is stillself-isolatingin a designated isolation area at the mine site. They are not showing symptoms, according to a press release from the office of the N.W.T.'s chief public health officeron Friday.

As a precaution,35 people at the mine wereput in isolationafter the presumptive case on Thursday, however eight were subsequently released after further investigation.

The mineis able to test people for COVID-19 on-site.Diavik Diamond Mine is about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

Diaviksays it is keepingemployeesupto date on the situation, and that additional precautions are being taken to avoid any possible contact with those who are isolated.

Matthew Klar, media relations for Rio Tinto, which runs Diavik, said the company had no comment at this time.

No risk to other workers, gov't says

Thereis no additional risk to other workers, the office of the chief public health officer says.

On Thursday, the N.W.T. government saidheightened precautions like the use of masks on shuttle buses andcharter flights to N.W.T. mines meant the person's "contacts were minimized."

The positive case will be counted toward Alberta's COVID-19 tally, as the person is not from the N.W.T., the government says.

There have been five cases among residents in the Northwest Territories to date.The last confirmed case wason April 5. All cases have since recovered.

As of Friday morning, the N.W.T. government's COVID-19 website reported that there have been3,227 COVID-19 tests done in the territory. Of those, 77 are awaiting results.

Nunavut announced three presumptive cases at its Mary River Mine near Pond Inlet this month all of whichwere confirmed negative at an Ontario lab. All three workers were from outside of the territory, and Nunavut's chief public health officer saidthey may have had COVID-19 previously but had since recovered.