Victorian abattoir outbreaks: 159 coronavirus cases across three sites

The Australian Lamb Company at Colac is the latest Victorian abattoir to be hit by coronavirus, while cases linked to JBS Australia and Somerville Retail Services continue to rise.

JBS Australia's abattoir in Brooklyn.

TWENTY-NINE coronavirus cases have been linked to the Australian Lamb Company in Colac, the latest in a string of meat processing plants to be affected by the virus.

It has caused Midfield Meats in Warrnambool to close, as an inspector who was on site last Tuesday had also had “close contact” with staff at the Australian Lamb Company.

It comes as cases linked to outbreaks at Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham and JBS Australia in Brooklyn continue to rise.

There are 72 cases now linked to Somerville Retail Services and 58 cases linked to JBS Australia.

The Weekly Times understands the Brooklyn plant will remain closed until July 29, with 1200 JBS workers deemed closed contacts who must now self isolate until at least the end of the month.

The Weekly Times is aware of at least one case at Pacific Meat Sales in Thomastown and one case at Australian Food Group in Laverton North.

The first JBS Australia worker tested positive more than two weeks ago, along with another worker at the Pacific Meat Sales abattoir in Thomastown.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced on July 6, the Pacific Meat abattoir had closed but did not answer questions from The Weekly Times about the fate of the JBS site at the time.

United Workers Union Director of Logistics Matt Toner told The Weekly Times lamb processing area workers were instructed by the company not to come to work on July 11, before the beef processing area was directed to shut down on Sunday, July 12.

During a press conference last Wednesday, Victorian Chief Health Officer professor Brett Sutton said the JBS site had been “closed for some time now”.

The union called for JBS to pay all workers pandemic leave for the duration of the shutdown.

JBS’ Brooklyn site employs about 1,230 people, according to its website.

While it remains unclear what the impact of JBS’ closure will be on the supply chain, a drop in slaughter rates due to restocking along the east coast could protect the livestock industry during the plant’s closure.

Elders Albury livestock manager Brett Shea said JBS did not operate at the Barnawartha prime sale last week.

“We really hope JBS gets through this shutdown as quickly and smoothly as possibly. We’re probably just lucky it happened at a period of time where we’re having an excellent season, and supply is at its tightest,” Mr Shea said.

It was revealed last Wednesday that DHHS staff failed to alert Australian Food Group in Laverton North to a potential outbreak after one of its workers tested positive on July 8.

Australian Food Group made its own decision to shut the abattoir.

But Mr Sutton defended the department saying “the risk assessment was made and it was probably appropriate”.

“It sounds as if the risk and the close contacts and particular circumstances of exposure in that setting meant that there wasn’t a risk of more widespread transmission.”

As for responding to the initial case, Prof Sutton said DHHS “get a notification when the laboratory sends through that notification or a medical practitioner calls through on our hotline”.

“A patient might be notified earlier,” he said.

Prof Sutton said he didn’t believe there had been any other cases at the abattoir.

“From a prevention point of view in abattoirs, I know that WorkSafe and third party auditors from the Commonwealth have gone through a really extensive process of review to try and minimise the risk in those settings, because we know that they can have really extensive outbreaks – up to 2000 people have been infected in some outbreaks internationally.”

It has been more than six weeks since Cedar Meats abattoir in Brooklyn reopened for livestock processing after it closed on May 1 and more than 100 staff and close contacts tested positive to coronavirus.