A quarantine is in place at the Lac des Iles mine north of Thunder Bay.
That information was first relayed to us by someone who knows workers at the mine. This morning, it was confirmed by a statement from the mine’s owners, Impala Canada.
The company says it was ordered by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit last night to go into lockdown.
It follows the discovery of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a mine employee.
The Health Unit determined the virus could be “incubating within individuals on site,” and ordered everyone there must remain until Saturday April 18. That will be the 14-day mark since the worker with COVID-19 was last on site.
The Health Unit has instructed the company to continue with what Impala Canada calls strict pandemic protocols currently in place, like screening every person who enters and exits the site, including temperature checks. It has also reduced the number of people in its kitchen at one time.
Impala Canada says the affected employee is now self isolating in the Thunder Bay region.
Five others in the person’s work crew are also isolated.
We have reached out to the health unit for a comment.
The mine is located 90 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
