Cavendish Plant -- Cavendish Farms

By David Opinko

COVID-19 outbreak at Lethbridge Cavendish plant, 12 employees test positive

Oct 16, 2020 | 3:08 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Cavendish has temporarily shut down operations at its Lethbridge location during a COVID-19 outbreak.

A statement emailed from the company to LNN confirmed that 12 employees have tested positive for the virus.

All impacted workers are now self-isolating.

“The health and safety of our employees is our #1 priority. We wish our colleagues speedy recoveries,” said Lee Gleim, Director of Operations for Cavendish Farms in Lethbridge.

The company’s human resources team worked to identify potential exposure to other employees. At this time, it is unclear what the original source of the infections was.

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“Our on-site pandemic response team was activated. We’re adhering to the guidance of local public health agencies as well as health care professionals,” said Gleim. “We completed a full sanitization and disinfection of our entire plant. We are also encouraging all employees to get tested.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Cavendish has implemented several measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. These include:

• Daily temperature screenings at entrances
• Hand sanitization stations throughout the plant
• Employees must answer health questionnaires prior to each shift
• Staggering shifts
• Virtual meetings are encouraged for employee teams and customers
• Increasing sanitization and disinfection protocols at the facility
• Adding plexiglass barriers where possible
• Introducing pay continuation for self-isolation due to COVID-19
• Having a senior leadership team dedicated to COVID-19 and providing regular updates to employees

Face masks have been mandatory for employees since October 6.