Interior Health says there are 12 people across the health authority who have returned from the Kearl Lake oil sands project, north of Fort McMurray, who later tested positive for COVID-19.

That is in addition to seven other people who did not travel, but came into contact with a worker, for a total of 19 cases in the Interior – of which 16 people have since recovered.

“We have 15 people who directly returned from that plant who have tested positive in B.C., and we also have additional family members,” said Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, on Monday. “If they have no more cases, it’ll be near the end of May that the outbreak will be declared over.”

In addition to the 15 cases among workers, there are eight other confirmed COVID-19 cases among people who did not travel to Kearl Lake for a total of 23 cases in British Columbia. Three more presumed cases linked to the oil sands project have been reported – one in a person who travelled and two who did not.

There are also confirmed cases liked to Kearl Lake reported in the Northern Health Authority and Vancouver Island Health Authority – though Interior Health remains the most affected.

Dr. Henry says people who were in an area that is experiencing at outbreak are at risk of contracting COVID-19, which is why anyone who returns to B.C. from Kearl Lake has to self-isolate for 14 days.

“Workers may be travelling back and forth to the site for essential work and are required to self-isolate for 14 days every time they return to B.C.,” said Interior Health spokesperson Susan Duncan. “Kearl Lake employers may have provided different advice to employees, however, B.C. workers must follow the B.C. order to self-isolate for 14 days.”

It is as officials in the province are treating the entire Kearl Lake site as an outbreak with the self-isolation rules going back to people who were on site since March 24, as they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

“We have had occasion where a family member of somebody who has worked in Kearl Lake has come back and not recognized that they’ve had a mild illness, have passed it on to a close contact, and that close contact was a healthcare worker,” noted Dr. Henry.

“So we need to be very vigilant right now that we’re monitoring ourselves and being very careful where we know that there is risk of transmission of this illness.”

The announcement came as Henry announced 53 new COVID-19 cases and three new deaths for a total of 2,224 and 117 deaths as of Monday afternoon.