A Coquitlam poultry plant shut down because of COVID-19 will have to carry out stringent cleaning measures and ensure physical distancing for its workers before it can be reopen.
Monday, Dr. Martin Lavoie, Fraser Health’s chief medical health officer, confirmed that 25 workers at Superior Poultry had tested positive out of 236 tests, including 73 close contacts, up from 18 on Friday.
At a press conference, Lavoie said Superior Poultry faces a number of conditions before it can re-open and warned other food processing and manufacturing companies to take extra precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or they too could face outbreaks and closures.
“What is the best guidance to provide? One that ensures the virus does not intrude — that’s why we mention that staff should not be going to work while sick and having plans in place that could certainly screen them before coming in,” Lavoie said.
In the case of Superior Poultry, a sister plant of United Poultry Co. Ltd, where several cases were found, it will have to wait a mandatory 14 days to avoid re-infection, and implement a thorough cleaning of all touch points as well as all food handling equipment and other areas of the plant where workers congregate.
And where two metres of distance can’t be maintained between workers, plexiglas barriers will have to be installed, Lavoie said.
“These plants are challenging, they are not built with these measures,” Lavoie said.
Temperature screening will also be required, as well as personal protection equipment made available to keep people from getting infected with COVID-19.
Currently, employees at Superior who have tested positive are all self-isolating and no one has had to be hospitalized. Collaboration with federal officials is also occurring at these federally-regulated operations as at Mission Institution, where numerous cases have been identified in the facility run by Correctional Service Canada.
The concerns come as the BC Centre of Disease Control has expanded the conditions for COVID-19 testing; people can now get tested if they have symptoms of the cold or flu or any respiratory illness, Lavoie said, recommending that people go to the BCCDC website for a list of symptoms and places to go to get tested in the Tri-Cities.
While Lavoie didn’t go so far as to say all Tri-City manufacturers and food processors will need these precautionary initiatives, such as temperature screening, he was adamant that they should have a plan in place and protocols for preventing the spread of COVID-19.
“We are going to be looking into that and making sure they have plans in place,” Lavoie said, adding that his goal is to ensure that COVID-19 doesn’t appear in these plants so they can stay open.
Ensuring that people don’t go to work sick is the number one priority, and was reiterated at the press conference because Fraser Health has confirmed that a number of people are still going to their jobs at seniors care homes while sick.
Although he wouldn’t lay blame, Lavoie said two senior care homes, one in Abbotsford and one in Langley, have each had a positive case of COVID-19.
However, outbreaks have been declared over at six senior facilities, according to Lavoie.
