Photo courtesy Barkervile Gold Mines Ltd.

By Greg Fry

Barkerville Gold Mines

COVID-19 temporarily closes Barkerville Gold Mines drilling program

Aug 4, 2020 | 3:13 PM

WELLS — Barkerville Gold Mines(BGM) Ltd. has temporarily suspended its drilling program due to a case of COVID-19.

The company says that on Sunday, a public health official from Northern Health contacted them and an exploration contractor to inform them that there was a contract employee who tested positive for COVID-19 on July 31.

The company says the employee is currently offsite and tested positive for COVID-19 when offsite and tested positive for COVID-19 when in northern B.C.

“The Northern Health official stated that the individual could have have been potentially infectious when the employee was onsite within BGM Wells camp from July 26 to July 28. The individual has had six known close contacts within BGM and within the exploration contractor group. No personnel onsite, including the close contacts, currently have signs and symptoms of COVID-19. To date, the affected employee had no known interaction within the community of Wells.”

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As a result, BGM says it’s taking the situation seriously and has decided to temporarily shut down the drilling program until further notice or until the close contacts of the infected individual finish self-isolating with no COVID-19 symptoms or provide negative COVID-19 results.

Despite the closure of the drilling program, the mine remains open.

BGM says it’s been following its COVID-19 Policy and Procedures and has ensured that all personnel who came into close contact are quarantined and self-isolating in the company residences and camp. The close contacts who are not local to Wells and have the ability to drive back to their residences safely, will begin travelling on August 3.

BGM has further mandated that all employees are screened for COVID-19 signs and symptoms on a daily basis.