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Additional positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed at the Valard Construction camp in Marathon 

January 20th, 2021 - The Marathon Family Health Team and the North of Superior Healthcare Group are committed to keeping our communities updated regarding the Valard West-Tie Project COVID-19 outbreak to the best of our ability.
According to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU), a total of 20 workers from the Valard Construction camp in Marathon have tested positive for COVID-19. More positive cases may be confirmed over the coming days as testing continues.
All identified close contacts will be contacted directly by the TBDHU. At this time, anyone who is not specifically contacted by public health, would be considered at low risk.
Valard Construction continues to apply their “Level 3” safety measures, which includes ongoing employee COVID-19 testing, additional infection control protocols and complete camp lockdown. All workers who test positive for COVID-19 are also being relocated outside of the community. In addition, Valard Construction is working closely with the TBDHU to move any individual who is identified as high risk out of the community.

Five positive cases of COVID-19 are confirmed at the Valard Construction camp in Marathon

January 16th, 2021 – The Marathon Family Health Team (MFHT) and the North of Superior Healthcare Group (NOSH), along with Valard Construction, are issuing a joint announcement that five positive cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed at the Valard Construction camp located on Stevens Avenue in Marathon.

All individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been contacted by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) and are currently self-isolating. The close contacts of the individuals who tested positive for the virus will be contacted directly by a public health nurse and provided with further instructions. According to the TBDHU, anyone who is not specifically contacted by public health would be considered low risk.

All confirmed positive cases have been relocated from camp and are self-isolating at a secure location in Thunder Bay. To ensure the safety of their employees and our communities, Valard will continue to work closely with public health authorities to ensure that proper protocols are being followed.

In an effort to prevent the further spread of the virus within their camps and our communities, Valard has also implemented full camp lockdown measures, which prevents all employees from leaving the Marathon camp and no one is permitted to enter the camp. Valard Marathon camp will remain in lockdown until further instructions are received by the TBDHU.

Valard Construction’s COVID-19 testing process

Over the last few weeks, Valard has been requiring their workers to complete rapid COVID-19 testing when they arrive on camp, when showing symptoms of COVID-19 or when they are identified as being “high risk” (due to travel, contact tracing, etc.). Valard’s COVID-19 testing process has resulted in efficiently helping to identify positive cases of the virus among their workers.

MFHT and NOSH would like to recognize Valard Construction for being a responsible community partner and for acting quickly and sensibly when positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed at their camp. These actions will help contain the virus and reduce its transmission within our communities.

The Marathon COVID-19 Assessment Centre

In response to the newly confirmed cases, your local healthcare team is preparing to manage the potential increase of COVID-19 testing demand. We remain committed to providing our community members and community partners with quick access to COVID-19 testing.

If you have any symptoms associated with COVID-19 or are concerned that you need to be tested for COVID-19, first self-isolate, then contact MFHT by emailing appointments@mfht.org. If you don’t have access to a computer or have an email address, you can contact us by calling 807-229-3243.

Ongoing communication

MFHT and NOSH would like to assure our community members that we will continue to work closely with Valard Construction and the TBDHU in order to keep our communities updated with timely and accurate information regarding our local COVID-19 situation.

Keeping our communities safe

Following public health advice and the province’s shutdown rules are the best things that everyone can do to ensure the health and safety of our communities at this time.

Everyone is encouraged to stay home, unless it’s for essential reasons, and to keep their close contacts to only the members of their households.

Thank you, again, for your support as we work to fight the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.