A weekend surge in COVID-19 cases within the City of Lethbridge has prompted Alberta Health to issue a “watch” for the city under the province’s coronavirus monitoring system.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 101 active cases of the virus within the city, after 52 new cases were identified over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The province has now confirmed six active outbreaks within the Lethbridge region, they include:
- Extendicare Fairmont Park — two active cases
- Lethbridge Family Services — four active cases, two recovered
- Cavendish Farms — eight active cases
- Children’s House Child Care Society — 18 active cases
- Good News Centre Church, Coalhurst — 30 active cases, 12 recovered
- Meridian Manufacturing — eight active cases, one recovered
A COVID-19 “watch” also continues for Lethbridge County where there were 40 active cases as of Tuesday. Six new cases were identified there over the long weekend.
An outbreak at the Cavendish Farms potato processing plant in Lethbridge was among the new outbreaks identified on Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement, Cavendish Farms said 10 employees at its Lethbridge plant had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Tuesday.
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The company said all affected employees and those who may have been exposed are self-isolating.
“The health and safety of our employees is our number one priority. We wish our colleagues speedy recoveries,” said Lee Gleim, director of operations for Cavendish Farms in Lethbridge.
“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,” Gleim said. “We completed a full sanitization and disinfection of our entire plant. We are also encouraging all employees to get tested.”
Gleim said manufacturing operations ceased at the facility on Friday, Oct. 9 for a planned maintenance shutdown. Operations are set to resume on Monday.
Cavendish Farms said “given the growing number of cases in Alberta, employees have been wearing masks at the facility since Oct. 6.”
Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, did not address that outbreak specifically but said any workplace where people are working closely together could be at risk for a COVID-19 outbreak.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were no outbreak protocols in effect for schools in Lethbridge, but individual cases have been identified within the last week at Victoria Park High School, Ecole Agnes Davidson, Fleetwood-Bawden Elementary, Lakeview Elementary, Ecole St. Mary and St. Francis Junior High School.
An additional case was also confirmed by the Lethbridge School Division on Tuesday evening at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute (LCI).
With files from Caley Ramsay, Global News.
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