Meat producer Cargill Inc plans to reopen one of its Canadian beef slaughterhouses, where cows are killed, next week. 82 people tested positive for COVID-19 at the slaughterhouse and the company closed the facility. But they’re planning on opening soon again.
“Factories and, in particular, indoor areas which are cold and damp are perfect environments for coronavirus to linger and spread,” Lawrence Young, Professor of Molecular Oncology, University of Warwick, said about the connection between coronavirus outbreaks and slaughterhouses.
Since the coronavirus pandemic started, many slaughterhouse workers have been infected and some have died, making the meat industry not only a cruel place for animals but also for humans.
But cruelty is not a reason to stop and Cargill announced they’re opening again. “I can confirm that we plan to begin reopening our Guelph-Dunlop primary beef facility in Ontario, Canada on Tuesday,” a company spokesman said in a statement to Reuters.
“Employees should not come to work with COVID-19 symptoms or if they have had contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days,” the company said.
The Guelph plant is the latest of many North American meat plants that had to stop production because too many workers were infected with COVID-19.
