Cargill says it is temporarily closing its meat processing facility in Guelph, Ont., amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among its employees.
“We are taking this step out of an abundance of caution as our local workforce deals with the community-wide impacts of COVID-19,” Cargill said in a statement.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health says 82 individuals at the facility have tested positive for the coronavirus, but it’s unclear how many cases are still active.
There are 129 employees self-isolating, which includes confirmed cases and close contacts.
Guelph’s associate medical officer health said the situation is serious.
“I wish to express gratitude to the management, staff, and union at Cargill for their full and expedient cooperation in investigating and containing this outbreak,” Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum said.
“As cases rise in our community, we all face the risk of outbreaks at work or school, as well as in our long-term care facilities. It will take all of us working together to contain this virus and keep our community safe.”
An outbreak was first declared on Dec. 4 and public health said it has completed a full infection and prevention review of the plant and tested about 200 employees.
Cargill said it’s encouraging its employees to get tested for the novel coronavirus.
“We are working closely with local health officials to ensure appropriate prevention, testing, cleaning and quarantine protocols are followed within our facilities,” the company said.
It’s unclear how long the closure will last but the company said employees will be paid for 36 hours per week as outlined in their collective agreement with the union.
To prevent food waste, Cargill said it will process nearly 1.55 million meals’ worth of protein that is currently in the facility.
This isn’t the first Cargill plant to close in Canada.
A Cargill plant in Alberta was once the site of Canada’s largest COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year and two employees died from the disease. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the company.
Another Cargill plant south of Montreal announced closed its doors in May after at least 64 workers there tested positive.
“We care deeply about our employees and their safety,” said Jon Nash, Cargill Protein’s North American leader.
“They are everyday heroes on the frontlines of our food system. Our focus now is on continuing to keep our employees safe and getting our facility back to normal operations.”