An employee from the Cargill plant has died and 484 coronavirus cases have been identified in connection to the outbreak that may have started with transmission from a long-term care centre..Cargill confirmed earlier Monday that operations at the High River plant have been “paused”..A spokesperson for Cargill said they would continue to process almost three million meals to avoid food waste..Cargill official Jon Nash said April 15 procedures were in place to check temperatures and otherwise screen employees for symptoms. Nash said at the time that a closure, if required, would be considered if required for employee safety..At the time Cargill was willing to accept healthy workers to open up a second shift that the company was forced to pause due to infections.. Trudeau on WE scandal: Case closed .During the daily Covid update, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced that the number of cases connected to the outbreak numbered 484 and that there was evidence of community transmission..“There was a situation where some of the long-term care outbreaks were part of large households where it was very difficult for people to self-isolate,” Dr. Hinshaw said Monday afternoon..A total of 29 continuing care facilities in the province have seen 130 cases and 34 deaths. The first recorded outbreak in a senior’s care centre was in McKenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre in southeast Calgary, announced on March 24..Those individuals then managed to spread the infections to Cargill workers mainly through household transmission and shared transportation, Dr. Hinshaw said..“It has taken a little while to put those pieces together. AHS moved in as soon as there was a case but we cannot focus solely on a work site – we need to focus on their day and where they go and where they may be exposed,” to get a full picture Dr. Hindshaw added..In Cargill’s case in particular, Dr. Hinshaw said it appeared that transmission had already taken place before the additional protective measures were added...Dr. Hinshaw said that what Alberta is seeing in hospitalization numbers today are approximately three weeks behind when accounting for transmission, incubation, and when an infected person may show symptoms..Health Minister Tyler Shandro also announced a $24.5 million dollar funding increase to long term care centres in Alberta to deal with immediate pressures..The funding will be used for increased health-care aide staffing, a $2 per hour wage “top-up” for aides, and up to 1,000 paid student practicum positions to fast-track certification for health-care aides..Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean is a Senior Reporter with Western Standard.dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter @Mitchell_AB
An employee from the Cargill plant has died and 484 coronavirus cases have been identified in connection to the outbreak that may have started with transmission from a long-term care centre..Cargill confirmed earlier Monday that operations at the High River plant have been “paused”..A spokesperson for Cargill said they would continue to process almost three million meals to avoid food waste..Cargill official Jon Nash said April 15 procedures were in place to check temperatures and otherwise screen employees for symptoms. Nash said at the time that a closure, if required, would be considered if required for employee safety..At the time Cargill was willing to accept healthy workers to open up a second shift that the company was forced to pause due to infections.. Trudeau on WE scandal: Case closed .During the daily Covid update, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced that the number of cases connected to the outbreak numbered 484 and that there was evidence of community transmission..“There was a situation where some of the long-term care outbreaks were part of large households where it was very difficult for people to self-isolate,” Dr. Hinshaw said Monday afternoon..A total of 29 continuing care facilities in the province have seen 130 cases and 34 deaths. The first recorded outbreak in a senior’s care centre was in McKenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre in southeast Calgary, announced on March 24..Those individuals then managed to spread the infections to Cargill workers mainly through household transmission and shared transportation, Dr. Hinshaw said..“It has taken a little while to put those pieces together. AHS moved in as soon as there was a case but we cannot focus solely on a work site – we need to focus on their day and where they go and where they may be exposed,” to get a full picture Dr. Hindshaw added..In Cargill’s case in particular, Dr. Hinshaw said it appeared that transmission had already taken place before the additional protective measures were added...Dr. Hinshaw said that what Alberta is seeing in hospitalization numbers today are approximately three weeks behind when accounting for transmission, incubation, and when an infected person may show symptoms..Health Minister Tyler Shandro also announced a $24.5 million dollar funding increase to long term care centres in Alberta to deal with immediate pressures..The funding will be used for increased health-care aide staffing, a $2 per hour wage “top-up” for aides, and up to 1,000 paid student practicum positions to fast-track certification for health-care aides..Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean is a Senior Reporter with Western Standard.dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter @Mitchell_AB
