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Health officials in Alberta announced that there are 38 active COVID cases among workers at the Sunrise Poultry Processor’s Plant in Lethbridge, Alberta. There have been 75 cases since the beginning of February. The Provincial Health Service ascribes the cases to community infection, but how this was determined was not stated. According to the Lethbridge Herald, Provincial health officials declare an outbreak in a specific workplace when the number of cases exceeds ten individuals.
Health officials are working with Sunrise Poultry to conduct testing and quarantine of employees who test positive and holds daily virtual meetings with management for a status report.
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Dr. Dina Hinshaw CMO Alberta |
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Precautions have included reducing processing rate, adding an additional shift on Saturdays to reduce the number of staff in the plant at any given time. PPE is worn by staff and barriers have been installed where physical distancing is impossible. Although the plant has intensified cleaning work surfaces, this has less of an effect on transmission compared to increasing the ventilation rate. Studies on transmission show that COVID is essentially a respiratory infection with the virus spread by inhalation of virus suspended in aerosols.
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