A South Okanagan company says coronavirus health protocols that were implemented on Sunday came into full effect this week, stating one of its employees is believed to have a presumptive case of COVD-19.
Based in Penticton, Peerless Limited, a trailer manufacturer, says the employee had recently returned from a holiday in Mexico.
Peerless Limited vice-president of operations Marc Berthiaume told Global News on Friday that the employee has stayed home since returning from vacation.
“Wednesday, we learned that she had the virus,” said Berthiaume. “So our protocols worked.
A source told Global News later Friday that the employee is believed to have a presumptive case, as the employee hasn’t been tested for COVID-19.
Berthiaume said Peerless, and its parent company, Manac Inc., in Quebec, began having discussions about coronavirus health protocols last week.
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He said on Monday, Peerless had six employees returning from vacation — three from the U.S., and three from Mexico.
“We decided to tell them to stay home for two weeks,” said Berthiaume. “And on Monday, we met to tell our employees of the health protocols and posted them in the office.”
He said it’s incumbent on employers to help protect employees, but that employees also need to take measures at home as well, to help prevent possibly spreading the virus to community members and fellow employees.
“Take care to have protocols at home,” said Berthiaume. “If you have teenagers, you can’t have parties. You can’t have people coming in your house as usual; you need to control what happens to make sure society will be safe.”
Berthiaume said the company meets at least once a day to discuss COVID-19.
“We are very proactive on what we hear, what we see,” he said.
Outside of the plant is a large red sign attached to a fence telling customers to stop and remain in their vehicles.
Berthiaume said it’s important that businesses have health protocols.
“It’s the minimum we need to do to protect our employees and their families,” said Berthiaume. “Of course, we want to protect the whole community, but we cannot do that.
“So we need to start with our own family and now I’m trying to protect my employees. If they are protected, we believe it’s going to be better for the community. So, of course, every company should have that type of protocol.”
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