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 The oil-rich province of Alberta is battling the highest rate of
COVID-19 in Canada as the country grapples with a third wave of the
pandemic, and on Thursday hit a record for new daily infections,
topping 2,000 a day for the first time. The Regional Municipality of
Wood Buffalo, home to the oil sands, has the highest rate of active
cases per capita in the province.
Maintenance work is critical for production from Canada's oil sands,
which hold the world's third-largest crude reserves and produce 3.1
million barrels per day, accounting for roughly three-quarters of
the country's total output.
Twelve oil sands plants including Canadian Natural Resources Ltd's
Horizon and the Suncor Energy-owned Syncrude project are tackling
outbreaks while in the middle of annual maintenance projects that
require flying in extra workers from as far away as Atlantic Canada.
In total, there are 822 active cases at oil sands sites, according
to Alberta Health. One worker has died.
Suncor has pushed back the maintenance turnaround on the U2 upgrader
at its base plant site by at least a month to see if infections
subside, said Terry Parker, executive director of the Building
Trades of Alberta, representing 18 local unions.
"It's a very stressful situation right now that they are facing,"
Parker said, adding some workers were leaving the oil sands because
of fears about becoming infected. "The owners are taking the
precautions necessary, and we are still contracting this disease."
A Suncor spokeswoman said the company is making minor adjustments to
pre-work and day-to-day activities, but it remains on track with its
planned maintenance.
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CNRL, Suncor and Syncrude said COVID-19 safety
protocols are in place. They have implemented
rapid testing and isolation camps in a bid to
slow the COVID-19 surge.
One contractor at CNRL's Horizon plant, which
has 328 active cases, the highest among the oil
sands sites, said workers are tested every four
days but that seemed to be having little impact
on the outbreak.
"You have 8,000
people on site for four weeks, it's going to be a thing," he said,
declining to be named because he is not authorised to speak to
media.
 Indigenous leaders this week called for stricter measures to control
the spread of the virus and accused Alberta Premier Jason Kenney of
"prioritising profits over lives" by allowing infected workers to
come to the region.
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, called
on Kenney to shut down work sites with outbreaks across the
province, including the oil sands, to get the virus under control.
"This is a recipe for needless infection and needless deaths,"
McGowan told Reuters.
Alberta has more than 21,000 active COVID-19 cases, including 632
people in hospital.
(Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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