MONTREAL -- A Montreal mail processing plant is the site of a COVID-19 outbreak, Canada Post and union officials have confirmed.
The Leo Blanchette mail processing plant, located on McArthur St. in St-Laurent, has seen over 30 employees test positive for the virus over the past two weeks, according to a Canada Post spokesperson.
They noted that the facility employs 3,000 people overall.
“In each case, the Direction Regionale de Sante Publique (DRSP) de Montreal was informed, and we continue to work closely with them,” they said in a statement.
The spokesperson said Canada post is “providing voluntary onsite rapid COVID-19 testing to all employees and contractors” at the plant as of Tuesday.
“Any employees who do test positive must leave the workplace and self-isolate," said the statement.
Jan Simpson, national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, said that of the 32 employees who tested positive, none have died.
“The union is closely monitoring the COVID-19 cases at the Leo Blanchette Mail Processing Centre in Montreal,” she said.
“The health and safety of our members is our priority, and because our advocacy, and at our urging, rapid testing began at the facility this morning."
She also urged Canada Post to take every measure possible to protect its workers in the third wave, and said they need vaccines soon as well.
"Postal workers have been on the front lines of this pandemic for over a year, helping people stay home and stay safe, and it is important that they be included in the second phase of the vaccine rollout," Simpson said.
- With reporting from CTV Montreal's Selena Ross
