580 cases of coronavirus linked to Cargill meat-processing plant south of Calgary
Sarah Rieger · CBC News · Posted: Apr 22, 2020
The Cargill meat-packing plant near High River, Alta., is the site of a COVID-19 outbreak that has led to hundreds of confirmed cases. (Charlotte Dumoulin/Radio-Canada)
Alberta Occupational Health and Safety is investigating two outbreaks of COVID-19 at Alberta meat-processing plants, one of which is the largest outbreak linked to a single site in Canada.
There are now 580 cases linked to the outbreak at the Cargill facility near High River, 440 of whom are Cargill employees.
One worker, a woman of Vietnamese background in her sixties, has died. Her husband is also sick and is being treated in hospital. The facility said Monday it would temporarily shut down as soon as it finished processing the meat already in the plant.
Health and safety inspection of Alberta meat plant linked to 515 COVID-19 cases was done by video call
Another Alberta meat plant experiencing an outbreak, JBS in Brooks, remains open but production has been reduced to one shift. There are now 96 cases linked to that plant.
A worker at JBS has died, as well as another person in the community, and Alberta Health Services is investigating to confirm if those deaths are due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the plant.
Alberta Occupational Health and Safety is investigating two outbreaks of COVID-19 at Alberta meat-processing plants, one of which is the largest outbreak linked to a single site in Canada.
There are now 580 cases linked to the outbreak at the Cargill facility near High River, 440 of whom are Cargill employees.
One worker, a woman of Vietnamese background in her sixties, has died. Her husband is also sick and is being treated in hospital. The facility said Monday it would temporarily shut down as soon as it finished processing the meat already in the plant.
Health and safety inspection of Alberta meat plant linked to 515 COVID-19 cases was done by video call
Another Alberta meat plant experiencing an outbreak, JBS in Brooks, remains open but production has been reduced to one shift. There are now 96 cases linked to that plant.
A worker at JBS has died, as well as another person in the community, and Alberta Health Services is investigating to confirm if those deaths are due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the plant.
Nobody wants to eat a hamburger that somebody had to die to produce.- Thomas Hesse, UFCW Local 401
Alberta's deputy minister of labour said investigations into both plants have been opened by OHS, and said there will be no further comment until the investigations are complete.
The union brought the first 38 cases of COVID-19 at the plant to the attention of media on April 13, as some employees at the facility accused the company of ignoring physical-distancing protocols and trying to lure them back to work from self-isolation.
Two days later, an inspector from the provincial Occupational Health and Safety — which has a mandate to ensure Alberta workplaces are operating in a way that is healthy and safe for employees — conducted an inspection from a remote location via a live video call.
OHS deemed the plant safe to remain open.
A COVID-19 outbreak at the Cargill meat processing plant in High River, Alta., has forced the facility to temporarily close, raising concerns about beef prices and supply. 3:03
Thomas Hesse, president of UFCW Local 401, which represents workers at the plant, called for the facility to close weeks ago and has since called for an inquiry into the worker's death.
"Nobody wants to eat a hamburger that somebody had to die to produce," said Hesse.
What led to Alberta's biggest outbreak? Cargill meat plant's hundreds of COVID-19 cases
In addition to an OHS fatality inquiry, the union has called for an independent investigation into Cargill, and the Alberta Federation of Labour has asked for a criminal investigation.
"It hits home on a personal level, but it also makes me very, very angry because from our perspective, this is a fatality that could have been avoided," Gil McGowan, president of the AFL said.
McGowan said it has been difficult to get updates, as he said the government and OHS are only communicating with the company, not the workers or union.
RCMP said it does not have an open investigation into the worker's death at this time.
Many workers at Cargill are members of a tight-knit Filipino community, who live in large households and carpool to work together.
Workers fear for their job security, safetyCalgarian Cesar Cala Cala, a volunteer with the Philippines Emergency Response Taskforce, said some workers feel they are being unfairly blamed for the outbreak — and are deeply concerned about their job security and safety.
"Is the plant a safe place to work? And then are their jobs secure? Many of the temporary foreign workers, their stay in Canada is based on their work visa connected to Cargill," he said.
Watch Workers raised concerns about Alberta meat processing plant closed by COVID-19 outbreak
Employees at the Cargill meat processing plant raised concerns about public health measures not being followed two weeks before a COVID-19 outbreak forced the plant to close
People of colour are over-represented in the meat processing industry, according to an economist, and census data shows those in the industry make less than the average industrial wage.
AHS has a dedicated task force of 200 workers responding to the outbreak, and translation services are being used to communicate with workers and their families who speak English as a second language.
Five employees at Seasons Retirement Communities in High River have now also tested positive for COVID-19; three of whom are married to meat-packing workers at Cargill.
Why Alberta's Filipino community has been hit particularly hard by this pandemic. 8:30
On Wednesday, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the majority of Cargill workers who have tested positive live in Calgary, and commute to High River.
He said earlier in the week, city flags were lowered to half mast to mark the victims of the Nova Scotia killings, and said those flags will remain lowered to memorialize the victims of COVID-19.
"That is a reminder that our neighbours have died. People in our community have died," he said.
Premier Jason Kenney said Wednesday the JBS plant will remain open with necessary health and safety precautions in place as long as health officials say it is safe to do so, as it's important to maintain the country's food supply.
There are now 3,401 cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, and 66 people have died. Just over 17 per cent of cases in the province are linked to the Cargill outbreak.
The National Farmer's Union said in an emailed release that the sites of the two outbreaks represent 85 per cent of Canada's total beef supply.
"Farmers need emergency support so we can take care of our livestock until the plants ramp up again. Health and safety come first, but you can't tell the cows to stop eating and growing until the crisis is over," said Ian Robson, an NFU board member, in an emailed release.
With files from Erin Collins, Charlotte Dumoulin, Carolyn Dunn and Colleen Underwood
Southern Alberta Filipino community ‘worried for our lives’ as members test positive for COVID-19
BY JILL CROTEAU GLOBAL NEWS April 22, 2020
WATCH: The workers at a Cargill meat plant in Alberta -- and their families -- are no doubt on edge, and have been for weeks. The novel coronavirus has significantly impacted the Filipino community in the area because many are employed at the plant and have tested positive. Jill Croteau reports.
https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/2da4dd7e-84f7-11ea-9793-0242ac110003/?jwsource=cl
Jocelyn Ruiz and her family came to Canada from the Philippines for a better life, one with more opportunity and hope. But she said her future has felt a little more uncertain with the spread of COVID-19. Both she and her husband and two other adults living in her High River home tested positive for the virus.
“Am I going to die? How about my family and my children?” Ruiz said.TWEET THIS
“I was so scared, I was so very fearful, that anxiety and depression came in and I have to fight it with positive thoughts. There are a lot of people who survive it and I want to be one of those.”
READ MORE: Alberta sees 5 more COVID-19 deaths, 1st case on First Nation
They have all been isolating for over 2 weeks in their High River home and are in recovery. Ruiz is relieved the Cargill processing plant shut down. Her husband’s cousin who rents a room downstairs works at Cargill, and he and his wife got infected by the virus. He was the first to show symptoms.
“The guy living with us works with Cargill and it was from his job. There is no social distancing at all, so what happened is, it came from his work and it was brought to the household. That’s based on my experience. It’s not from the household going to the company. No,” Ruiz said.
She said multiple people living in one household is common within the Filipino community because they are supporting each other as they get settled in a new country.
“We are helping them, some of them are renting a house say seven of them will rent together, not everyone can afford a house,” Ruiz said.
READ MORE: Albertans struggling to return home from the Philippines amid COVID-19
The coronavirus has hit the Filipino community particularly hard. Elma Ton also lives with someone who tested positive, another employee at Cargill.
“I have a renter. He received his swab test results and it came back positive so it’s been stressful. We are all emotional with what is happening right now,” Ton said. “We feel we are helpless.”
“Every household that I know with a Filipino, there is somebody tested positive in every household that I know.
Ton’s husband works at the meat processing plant too, and is concerned about him returning to work.
“I’m worried for my children, especially my eldest one, because she has high blood pressure,” Ton said. “We are all worried for our lives.”
The union supporting the 2000 workers at the Cargill plant said more needs to be done to reassure families when they return to work. Thomas Hesse, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) President, is advocating for them to be heard.
“No one should have to die for us to eat a hamburger,” Hesse said
“These plants are petri dishes of infection; where hundreds if not thousands are working in close proximity. It has its origin, we believe, in these crowded plants.
BY JILL CROTEAU GLOBAL NEWS April 22, 2020
WATCH: The workers at a Cargill meat plant in Alberta -- and their families -- are no doubt on edge, and have been for weeks. The novel coronavirus has significantly impacted the Filipino community in the area because many are employed at the plant and have tested positive. Jill Croteau reports.
https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/2da4dd7e-84f7-11ea-9793-0242ac110003/?jwsource=cl
Jocelyn Ruiz and her family came to Canada from the Philippines for a better life, one with more opportunity and hope. But she said her future has felt a little more uncertain with the spread of COVID-19. Both she and her husband and two other adults living in her High River home tested positive for the virus.
“Am I going to die? How about my family and my children?” Ruiz said.TWEET THIS
“I was so scared, I was so very fearful, that anxiety and depression came in and I have to fight it with positive thoughts. There are a lot of people who survive it and I want to be one of those.”
READ MORE: Alberta sees 5 more COVID-19 deaths, 1st case on First Nation
They have all been isolating for over 2 weeks in their High River home and are in recovery. Ruiz is relieved the Cargill processing plant shut down. Her husband’s cousin who rents a room downstairs works at Cargill, and he and his wife got infected by the virus. He was the first to show symptoms.
“The guy living with us works with Cargill and it was from his job. There is no social distancing at all, so what happened is, it came from his work and it was brought to the household. That’s based on my experience. It’s not from the household going to the company. No,” Ruiz said.
She said multiple people living in one household is common within the Filipino community because they are supporting each other as they get settled in a new country.
“We are helping them, some of them are renting a house say seven of them will rent together, not everyone can afford a house,” Ruiz said.
READ MORE: Albertans struggling to return home from the Philippines amid COVID-19
The coronavirus has hit the Filipino community particularly hard. Elma Ton also lives with someone who tested positive, another employee at Cargill.
“I have a renter. He received his swab test results and it came back positive so it’s been stressful. We are all emotional with what is happening right now,” Ton said. “We feel we are helpless.”
“Every household that I know with a Filipino, there is somebody tested positive in every household that I know.
Ton’s husband works at the meat processing plant too, and is concerned about him returning to work.
“I’m worried for my children, especially my eldest one, because she has high blood pressure,” Ton said. “We are all worried for our lives.”
The union supporting the 2000 workers at the Cargill plant said more needs to be done to reassure families when they return to work. Thomas Hesse, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) President, is advocating for them to be heard.
“No one should have to die for us to eat a hamburger,” Hesse said
“These plants are petri dishes of infection; where hundreds if not thousands are working in close proximity. It has its origin, we believe, in these crowded plants.
Global News reached out to Cargill officials and did not receive a response in time for publication.
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