Six new coronavirus cases from Melbourne meat processor outbreak
More workers have tested positive to coronavirus after an outbreak forced a Melbourne meat processing facility to close and more than 300 staff to be tested.
FIFTEEN people associated with an outbreak at a Melbourne meat processing facility have now tested positive for coronavirus.
It was announced yesterday the facility, which the Department of Health refused to identify, closed on Friday after eight employees tested positive to the virus.
It was revealed today a further six workers tested positive to coronavirus yesterday, and one more case was added to the Friday result, taking the total number of cases to 15.
The Melbourne meat processor is working with the Department to ensure the facility is thoroughly cleaned and more than 300 staff are being tested.
The Department would not answer questions from The Weekly Times about when the first person tested positive or how long the facility was expected to be closed.
“All necessary public health actions are taken in response, including contact tracing, isolation, quarantine and cleaning,” a DHHS spokesman said.
There is growing speculation as to the identity of the meatworks, with one Melbourne facility, in particular, being singled out by some as the site of the outbreak.
The Weekly Times this morning visited the meatworks at the centre of the speculation. There was no activity at the abattoir and no signage to indicate it had been closed.
A sign on the meatworks’ entry gate said the company had implemented “visitor restrictions to prevent the spread of respiratory illness including coronavirus (Covid 19)”.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos reiterated her stance on not naming the facility again today saying there was no risk to the community.
“This is not a decision that’s been made about anyone’s reputation, this an assessment that’s been made as to whether there is a significant risk to public health and as I said yesterday and I reiterate this; we will not hesitate to identify a location of an outbreak if there is a risk to Victoria’s public health,” she said.
Agriculture Victoria told The Weekly Times “it is not anticipated that this matter will have any significant impact on the supply of meat to consumers”.
The outbreak comes a month after The Weekly Times published farmers and food processors demands they be given priority testing for coronavirus in the event of an outbreak on their farm or factory, to avoid having to shut down.
There were 13 new coronavirus cases across Victoria today, with no new cases in regional Victoria.
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