MONTREAL -- Following an outbreak of COVID-19 at an Olymel meatpacking facility last week, the company announced on Thursday another outbreak of the disease at one of its slaughterhouses.
So far, 14 employees out of 370 have tested positive for COVID-19 at Olymel's Princeville location between Montreal and Quebec City -- and local health authorities announced that a major testing effort targeting 120 daytime staff members will begin on Friday.
"The public health department of the CIUSSS MCQ and the management of Olymel thus hope to stem the spread of the coronavirus at this plant," reads a Thursday afternoon news release by the company.
Olymel also said it intends to implement an action plan to curb the spread of the disease going forward in addition to the one already in place since the start of the pandemic. The plan, developed with local health authorities, includes eliminating gatherings in common areas (inside and out) and reducing carpooling.
An Olymel employee who tested positive for COVID-19 last week at the meatpacking facility died the next day, but it remains to be seen if the death was caused by the disease.
“An investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances of this death and whether they are related to COVID-19,” the company said in a news release last week.
On Thursday, spokesperson Richard Vigneault said the cause of death still hasn't been determined.
