The 600 or so drivers who will travel up the 400-kilometre road to the diamond mines this season are under a strict set of rules to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Mike Lowing, spokesperson for the , addressed MLAs in a standing committee on accountability and oversight meeting on Monday. 

He said an estimated 6,089 loads will be transported up the road this season, continuing a gradual decrease over the years since 8,766 loads were transported in 2016.  

The winter road season for trucks opened on Monday facing two main challenges. The first is ice conditions that have been more difficult this year. The road in fact was closed two hours after opening on Monday due to a large storm in the Mackay Lake area, Lowing said. 

But the largest challenge this year is the threat of Covid-19.

The Joint VentureSA国际影视传媒檚 exposure control plan is overseen by doctors Nick Withers and Michael Conrad, who regularly liaise with the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 chief public health officer Dr. Kami Kandola.

Rio Tinto, De Beers and Canadian Arctic Diamond Company Ltd run the road together. Canadian Arctic was formerly known as Dominion Diamond Mines before the company purchased the Ekati Mine last week.  

SA国际影视传媒淲e want to make sure the workforce going to the site is as clear as possible from transmitting the virus,SA国际影视传媒� Conrad said. 

Drivers screened

Most drivers, who are from outside the NWT undergo a screening process before theySA国际影视传媒檙e permitted to drive up the road to the three camps of Dome Lake, Lockhart Lake and Lac De Gras on the way to the mines. If they donSA国际影视传媒檛 pass, they can't continue.

Drivers have their temperatures checked and are taken to a separate station for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for Covid-19. TheySA国际影视传媒檙e tested the first and seventh days they work on the road and most will stay in a territorial bubble. 

A small, select group does trans-border trips because they transport ammonium nitrate from Edmonton that canSA国际影视传媒檛 be stored in Yellowknife. That chemical is used as an explosive at mine sites. Each time those drivers cross the border they restart the Covid-19 test cycle. 

Drivers who come up from the United States arenSA国际影视传媒檛 permitted to drive up the road, Lowing said. 

If drivers show any signs of flu theySA国际影视传媒檙e separated, masked and checked, due to the fact that Covid-19 symptoms arenSA国际影视传媒檛 immediately distinguishable. 

The winter road season has this year been shortened from eight weeks to seven to further reduce the time that non-NWT drivers spend in the territory. 

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e also changed our crew rotations to meet government requirements based on the two week rotations,SA国际影视传媒� Lowing said. 

Drivers checked in camps, too

In addition to testing the health of drivers, the Joint Venture is checking the drivers in camps on the road for compliance with Covid-19 safety regulations such as face masks and physical distancing. 

SA国际影视传媒淭hose two controls are the strongest,SA国际影视传媒� Lowing said. SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e seen a mixed bag of results. People in the camps are very social. At end of the day distancing tends to decrease. For example, we found facial barriers and distancing in our camps to be weak at best. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e getting stricter. They must now wear mandatory surgical masks provided to them. Next week weSA国际影视传媒檒l go back and re-monitor compliance.SA国际影视传媒�

Drivers are tested before they begin their journey up the road. Currently the private sector testing provider can process 15 PCR tests in two and a half hours, though the Joint Venture aims to ramp up its test turnaround time to keep up with dispatching four trucks every 20 minutes. 

After the roughly eight-hour drive to the Lockhart camp the results are available. If a driverSA国际影视传媒檚  test is positive theySA国际影视传媒檙e met by a team, who gives them a medical assessment to determine fitness.

The driver turns around and goes back to Yellowknife under escort. Once in Yellowknife the trucking carrier and Kandola discuss a management plan before the driver goes into quarantine.  

Radar guns

Yellowknife North MLA Rylund Johnson asked Lowing about measures to mitigate traffic concerns on the Ingraham Trail, which connects to the start of the road. 

Lowing said truck speeds are kept at 70 km/h. When driving down the Ingraham Trail an experienced SA国际影视传媒渃onvoy leaderSA国际影视传媒� coaches new drivers to ensure they maintain 1,000 metres of separation to avoid causing inconvenience to people in the area. 

SA国际影视传媒淏lackout periodsSA国际影视传媒� when no trucks are dispatched on the road cover 7 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. seven days a week so residents and others on the trial have a break from the truck traffic. 

The Joint Venture also operates two security services vehicles that essentially police the truckers using a radar gun to monitor for speeding, seatbelt use and unsafe or aggressive behaviour. 

SA国际影视传媒淲e donSA国际影视传媒檛 fine drivers, we punish them. It sounds really draconian but if a driver doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 follow the rules they can have a one, three, five-day suspension, a season ban or a permanent ban depending on the severity of what they have.SA国际影视传媒�

Drivers found to be not following Covid-19 regulations while in Yellowknife, such as before they head up the road, can be trackable and potentially reported to the Joint Venture, who could pass that information onto Protect NWT, Lowing explained. 

Vehicles designated for winter road driving are identifiable by a territorial license plate on the driverSA国际影视传媒檚 window on the upper left or lower left corner. 

SA国际影视传媒淥nce they have that ID plate then theySA国际影视传媒檙e trackable to us and you can pull in our health, safety and environment supervisor and weSA国际影视传媒檒l begin an investigation if we believe thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a Covid infraction,SA国际影视传媒� he said.