An outbreak of the novel coronavirus has been declared at an Edmonton recycling facility, the city confirmed on Friday.
Interim city manager Adam Laughlin said the city has “been advised that employees of one of our contractors working in the materials recovery facility at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre, they’ve recently tested positive for COVID-19.
“I’d like to confirm that there is no public exposure to this facility or public access and that no City of Edmonton employees are affected,” Laughlin said.
While the materials recovery facility, known as the MRF, is owned by the city, it is operated by Suez Canada Waste Services.
Materials from Edmontonians’ blue bags and recycling depots across the city are brought to the facility for sorting and processing.
Laughlin said the city learned of the first case at the plant 10 days ago. At that time, all work at the facility was suspended and it was closed.
“Suez employees and their subcontractors who work at the MRF site were sent home,” Laughlin said.
“As of yesterday, we have been advised that 10 Suez employees have tested positive.”
In a statement Friday afternoon, Alberta Health said 12 cases of COVID-19 have been linked to this outbreak to date.
In her update Friday afternoon on the number of cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, the province’s chief medical officer of health said she didn’t have specific details about the outbreak.
“I know Alberta Health Services is working closely with the organization — with the managers of the particular unit that’s affected — but unfortunately, I don’t have information about the specific details and what the risk was seen to be at that location,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.
The city said Suez has been working with Alberta Health Services to make sure the right COVID-19 protocols are in place and that testing and contact tracing is being done.
“As testing continues, those numbers may change,” Laughlin said.
“The well-being of City of Edmonton employees and the public remains their top priority. The MRF and all other facilities that these contractors may have visited at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre have undergone significant cleaning and disinfecting.”
Alberta confirmed 46 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number of active cases of the disease in the province to 512. There were 211 active cases of COVID-19 in the Edmonton zone Friday afternoon, 201 of which were within city limits.
Global News has reached out to Suez Canada Waste Services for comment and will update the story if a response is received.
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