Nearly half of SPC staff in home isolation as Shepparton grapples with Covid-19 outbreak

Shepparton’s largest employer has described chaotic scenes after half of its staff were forced into Covid-19 isolation.

Nearly half of all staff at Shepparton’s biggest employer have been forced into home isolation as the regional Victorian city grapples with a Covid-19 outbreak.

It was exactly this situation SPC boss Hussein Rifai anticipated weeks ago, sparking his decision to become the first company in Australia to mandate the Covid-19 jab among its employees.

Mr Rifai said 48 per cent of his employees at the Shepparton plant were in isolation following an outbreak of the dangerous Covid-19 Delta variant in the central Victorian city.

Just two weeks ago Mr Rifai mandated the jab to prevent this situation from occurring, where he required all 500 staff members of the national fruit manufacturer to be fully vaccinated by the end of November.

He asked for all staff at SPC sites in Shepparton, Essendon Fields and Emu Plains in NSW – including contractors, casuals and permanent staff – to have their first jab booked by September 15 and administered by the end of October.

SPC chairman Hussein Rifai mandated the vaccine for his employees. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

Visitors to any of these locations would also only be allowed entry if they had been completely inoculated.

“This is exactly the reason why I mandated the vaccine,” Mr Rifai said.

“We knew as we were watching the Delta variant sweeping through small towns in NSW this could happen – why would it stop at Shepparton – this Delta variant stops at nothing.”

Mr Rifai said he was in crisis meetings every day as he analysed supply and demand issues and restructured staff around those who were forced into home isolation.

Since mandating the jab, he said 10 per cent of all staff had been fully vaccinated and 19 per cent had received their first dose, with 99 per cent of staff at their western Sydney plant either fully or partially inoculated.

Of the 80 new local cases reported in Victoria on Thursday, 20 were linked to the Shepparton and Royal Melbourne Hospital cluster – none of the 20 were in isolation during their infectious period.

As of Thursday, the Shepparton outbreak stood at 67 cases.

Daniel Andrews thanked the 16,000 Shepparton residents who would spend two weeks in home quarantine as a result, and tipped more cases in the coming days.

The large number of people in isolation even forced the Premier to call on ADF support.

Regional public servants were also being redirected to help the city manage its outbreak.

At least 16,000 Shepparton residents are currently in home isolation. s. Picture: David Caird

“Every part of life in Shepparton and across the Goulbourn Valley has been impacted by the fact that many people are not at work,” Mr Andrews said.

“The emergency management architecture will be in place but it will be in the main very, very simple things. Taking food to people’s doorstep. Getting scripts filled.

“There are substantial additional people on the ground today and that will build over time.

“We do not want people from Melbourne going there at the moment for fear of taking the virus there. But regional Victorian public servants going back, dropping off food passes, doing the practical but very important things to assist the community of Shepparton and give them the support they require in their time of need.”

Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews has thanked Shepparton residents for doing the right thing, even though it is hard. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Sarah Matray

Mr Andrews also said he wanted to thank the people of the town for the “amazing way” in which they have banded together in an attempt to kerb the spread.

He has ruled out “blanket testing” for the town, but authorities have encouraged anyone who is symptomatic or associated with the exposure sites to come out and get tested.

“The people of Shepparton are a pretty special bunch,” Mr Andrews said.