Cedar Meats resumes some operations, as linked coronavirus cases near 100
About 20 staff have returned to work today at Cedar Meats and are resuming some operations, but a question mark remains over when the abattoir will begin receiving livestock again.
MELBOURNE abattoir Cedar Meats has reopened today, with just shy of 100 cases linked to its coronavirus outbreak.
About 15 to 20 staff returned to work at the Brooklyn site to operate its cold storage facility.
It is unknown when the company will begin receiving livestock again.
“Cedar Meats is working with DHHS (the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services) to plan how it moves forward with reopening the rest of its operation,” a company spokeswoman told The Weekly Times.
Yesterday was the first day since the facility closed on Friday, May 1, that no new coronavirus cases were linked to the abattoir.
Ninety-nine people associated with Cedar Meats have tested positive for the virus. At least 64 of these are workers.
Victorian deputy chief health officer Annaliese van Diemen said because there had been transmissions of the virus in households and community members, the department wanted to be “really sure all those transmission chains have been broken before we have a large number of people back into that workplace”.
“Nobody is going back to Cedar Meats at this point in time who is still susceptible,” she said. “The only workers going back are those who are clear of COVID-19 and we know are no longer susceptible.
“There’s a very strict process in place before any further workers are allowed back.”
It comes after new details emerged around how a coronavirus case at a Victorian poultry processing facility was being handled as staff await test results, but the department refused to reveal the business’ identity or location.
There have been 1567 cases of coronavirus across Victoria.
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