The Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In a tweet this morning, the NWHU announced that two new cases of COVID-19 had been discovered in Atikokan and are related to the Lac des Iles (LDI) mine located northwest of Thunder Bay. Both of the cases are self-isolating and all of their contacts are in isolation as well.
The LDI mine itself has had 14 of its employees test positive for COVID-19, according to a sudbury.com report from April 18. Impala Canada, the company that owns and operates the mine, said it has transferred most of its employees off site and into quarantine either at their own homes, or at hotels in the case of those who were not local. Operations at the mine are currently stopped. A small skeleton crew is on site to ensure the safety and security of the mine.
The LDI mine is a palladium mine, located 90 km north of Thunder Bay. The outbreak is linked to a single employee, who passed all health checks and showed no symptoms during the time they were active at the site, but later tested positive for COVID-19.
The NWHU is also asking anyone who worked at the LDI mine since March 30 and who lives in the region to call the NWHU hotline at 1-866-468-2240.
The two newest cases bring the total number of COVID-19 cases in Atikokan to four, and the total number of cases in the NWHU catchment area to 15, which includes one positive test from a person that does not live in the area but whose results were linked to an old address.
To date, the NWHU has completed more than 850 COVID-19 tests.
Please see P3 for a complete breakdown of local COVID-19 cases and testing numbers.
