44 workers test positive for coronavirus at meatpacking plant in Breslau, Ont.

Forty-four people have now tested positive for coronavirus at a meatpacking plant in Breslau, Ont., according to Waterloo Public Health.

Waterloo’s acting medical officer of health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said that the agency informed Conestoga Meats of the situation Thursday afternoon.

“We informed Conestoga Meats that a total of 44 people who worked at the plant have tested positive for COVID-19,” she said. “Of the positive cases, 12 have resolved to date.”

The number is a drastic jump from the 11 people who had tested positive by May 1. Cases were first reported at the plant in early April.

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Wang believes that some of the transmissions occurred at the plant but others would have happened elsewhere.

“We know that these are work environments where the virus can spread easily,” she explained. “That said, it is also likely that not all transmission occurred at the plant.”

Wang said there was a lot of interaction between employees outside of the plant as well.

“Many live together and/or carpool together to increase the risk environments outside of Conestoga Meats,” she said.

The plant was closed for a week before it reopened on May 4.

“At this time, the cases we are now seeing are believed to be from the period prior to the closure and full implementation of PPE (personal protective equipment), and other protective measures,” she said.
Wang said the ministry of Labour and Public Health officials inspected the plant before it reopened.

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“We are very comfortable with the fact that they’ve reopened,” she said. “The measures that they put in place have met or exceeded what has been recommended by the Ministry of Labour and ourselves.”

Global News has reached out to Conestoga Meats but has not yet received a response.