Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw. (Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

Province placing high priority on managing COVID-19 outbreaks in meatpacking plants

May 6, 2020 | 4:27 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Government of Alberta has released its latest update on COVID-19 Wednesday.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says officials are working diligently to support and manage two meatpacking facilities in southern Alberta – Cargill in High River and JBS in Brooks.

To date, 946 workers at Cargill have tested positive, about 84 per cent of whom have fully recovered. At JBS, 556 workers have contracted the virus and 76 per cent have recovered.

There is also an outbreak at Harmony Beef just north of Calgary where 12 employees have been infected.

“I want to be clear that we are monitoring each of these outbreaks very closely, working with operators to contain the spread and ensuring that all public health measures are being enforced and taken seriously.”

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Dr. Hinshaw says Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) are regularly visiting all of these sites with outbreaks to ensure control measures are implemented and to provide advice and support.

Safety controls are in place that are up to the standards of AHS and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, but vary depending on the specific site and their needs.

Some of the controls in effect at all of these meat processing plants include conducting temperature and system checks for employees before entering the workplace, wearing personal protective equipment that is to be worn at all times, enhanced cleaning practices, staggered breaks and shift flexibility, the installation of more sinks, and increasing the distance between each employee to at least two metres.

Three inspections have been conducted at Cargill, four at JBS, and two at Harmony Beef.

Telephone town halls have been hosted by the province for those who have been affected by these outbreaks in multiple languages.

Assessment centres have been established for community members in Brooks and High River, even for those without any symptoms.

“I know there are many questions as to what lead to such significant outbreaks. I have been told that investigations into Cargill and JBS are now being conducted by Occupational Health and Safety. This will include investigations of any potential non-compliance that may have affected the health of safety of workers at the facility.”

Dr. Hinshaw also gave her regular daily COVID-19 update.

She confirmed 70 new infections across the province Wednesday, bringing the total to 5,963. 3,552 patients have fully recovered.

A total of 170,509 people have been tested.

Another six deaths have been announced, all of which are in the Calgary Health Zone. This means, to date, 112 Albertans have died as a result of COVID-19.

The breakdown by regional health zone is as follows:

• Calgary zone – 4,003 cases, 78 deaths (six new)
  • 72,296 tests
• South zone – 1,111 cases, six deaths
  • 13,014 tests
• Edmonton zone – 503 cases, 12 deaths
  • 46,297 tests
• North zone – 229 cases, 15 deaths
  • 12,398 tests
• Central zone – 91 cases, one death
  • 13,142 tests

The breakdown for the South health Zone by community is as follows:

• Brooks – 1,020 cases (15 new), 377 recovered, four deaths
• Medicine Hat – 33 cases, 23 recovered
• Lethbridge – 18 cases, 12 recovered
  • South Lethbridge – nine cases, five recovered
  • West Lethbridge – seven cases, seven recovered
  • North Lethbridge – two cases
• County of Newell – 11 cases, five recovered
• Cypress County – nine cases, seven recovered
• Cardston County – six cases
• Fort Macleod – two cases
• M.D. of Taber – two cases, two recovered
• County of Forty Mile – two cases, two recovered
• Lethbridge County – one case, one recovered