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Outbreak in Brooks

COVID-19 confirmed at Brooks beef plant, continuing care centre

Apr 16, 2020 | 11:43 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The City of Brooks is confirming multiple cases of COVID-19 at the JBS Food Canada plant in that city and one case among the staff of Sunrise Gardens continuing care centre.

A release from the City of Brooks, states that AHS is working very diligently with both locations to track close contacts and put strict measures in place to control the spread.

“AHS has directly contacted individuals who are considered to be a close contact, or what is considered to be a person who may have been exposed to the positive COVID-19 cases. Only individuals contacted directly by AHS are considered to be a close contact. If you are not contacted directly by AHS, you are not considered exposed,” reads the release.

“As these are now confirmed community transmitted cases, we are reminding residents that it is crucial we all continue to be socially responsible,” the release continues. “Stay home, practice social distancing, self-isolate and practice good hygiene; wash hands often, cover coughs and sneezes and avoid touching your face. Monitor symptoms such as a cough, fever, fatigue or difficulty breathing. If you think you may have COVID-19, take the self-assessment test at Myhealth.Alberta.ca and follow instructions. Do not go to the emergency room unless you have severe symptoms.”

With the recent increase in testing eligibility, Brooks officials expect to see a spike in cases in the coming days with Facebook comments from the city indicating that number will hit double-digits.

“We are all aware that there is a fear and anxiety around this,” said Brooks mayor Barry Morishita. “That coupled with the economic issues that go hand in hand, it’s tough to handle. But, we’re trying to go the route of more information is better and that our information is good. So, that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

On Wednesday, the City of Brooks confirmed three cases in the city following back and forth between officials from the city and AHS about the addresses of those with confirmed cases.

CHAT News reached out to JBS Food Canada for an interview on Thursday afternoon and were provided with the following statement:

“The JBS Brooks beef production facility is open and operating. As a food company, we recognize and embrace the important role we play in making sure people have access to safe, quality food as we collectively face the coronavirus (COVID-19) challenge. We have had team members test positive for COVID-19 in some of our facilities. We are providing support to those team members and their families, and we hope they all make a full and speedy recovery. Out of respect for the families, we are not releasing further information.”

“The food supply is a critical infrastructure industry and we have a special responsibility to maintain operations on behalf of the county. We take this responsibility seriously.”

A number of safety protocols have also been put into place at JBS’s Brooks facility including increased sanitation efforts, providing physical partitions, staggering shifts and breaks, temperature testing all team members prior to entering the facility, providing extra personal protective equipment, restricting access to the public, requiring sick members to stay home, and waiving short-term disability waiting periods.

Morishita added it’s vital for Brooks residents to limit community spread with the reported spike in numbers and praises the steps JBS has taken.

“Food production is obviously a very essential service for us,” said Morishita. “If big companies like JBS and other food processors are affected by COVID-19, that’s going to affect supplies in the future and prices in the future. We really don’t need that added stress to our system, so I think we have to really work hard to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Discussing outbreaks at plants in High River and Calgary during her address to the province on Wednesday, chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw reminded Albertans that COVID-19 is not a food-borne illness.

For more information about COVID-19 support and programs in Brooks visit brooks.ca.