Coronavirus: Surge in High River cases believed to be result of in-home transmissions
From Monday to Friday, the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the southern Alberta town of High River jumped from just 60 to 358.
The significant surge in cases is believed to be linked to an outbreak at the Cargill Meat Solutions meat-packing plant in the town, according to Alberta’s chief medical officer of health.
“There are now 358 cases linked to this outbreak, involving “multiple connected households,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Friday.
“Some of these households are in surrounding communities such as Calgary, and current information suggests that the cases in this outbreak are primarily linked to household transmission.”
Hinshaw said a dedicated outbreak response team has been assigned to track the outbreak and prevent any further spread of the virus.
The Cargill facility restricted operations earlier this week, in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, eliminating one entire shift from its rotation.
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At the time, the union representing workers at the plant, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 (UFCW), said there were 38 cases among staff, though the company didn’t confirm any numbers, only saying there were employees who had tested positive.
Following Hinshaw’s announcement of the spike in cases, the Opposition NDP called on the UCP government to temporarily close the Cargill plant until it’s deemed safe for workers to return.
“Employers have a legal responsibility to keep their workers safe at work,” labour critic Christina Gray said.
“Jason Kenney and the UCP government have sat on their hands and the situation in High River has gotten much worse.”
Gray said the government ignored the UFCW’s calls to have the plant closed for two weeks to allow time for a proper pandemic response plan to be put together.
The Kenney government shared its “intergovernmental business resumption protocol” for provincially or federally licensed food processing facilities in Alberta on Thursday.
In addition to closing the plant, the NDP said the UCP government should ensure that the affected employees are compensated during the closure, and that the company publicly report the steps it plans to take to ensure the safety of its employees and the surrounding community.
Health officials in Alberta completed 3,831 COVID-19 tests in the past 24 hours, Hinshaw said.
Global News has reached out to both Cargill Meat Solutions and the UCP government for comment on this story. This story will be updated when we get a response.
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