The Exceldor Cooperative poultry plant in Blumenort, Manitoba, has been identified as a COVID-19 cluster for the second time.
The cooperative confirmed with the Winnipeg Free Press that 23 staff members at the plant have tested positive for COVID-19 since May 5, with 10 cases considered to still be active.
This marks the second time a COVID-19 cluster was associated with the plant since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Jordan Ouellet, a spokesperson for Exceldor, added that about 25 workers were in self isolation due to various COVID-19 exposures. Those exposures include contact with COVID-19 patients inside as well as outside of the plant, which employs about 600 people.
At least 61 workers contracted COVID-19 during the first cluster incident, which was in the fall of 2020. The Free Press reported that two of those 61 cases were fatalities.
While Ouellet said many of the workers at the plant have already been vaccinated for the coronavirus, the cooperative is considering hosting a vaccination clinic at the facility.
The news of the COVID-19 cluster comes just after Exceldor Cooperative had gained nationwide attention in Canada as workers at its poultry plant in St-Anselme, Quebec, went on a strike that lasted for more than one month. As a result of the strike and a related inability to process and package the poultry products, about 1 million chickens were euthanized.
The strike began on May 23, and an agreement between the striking union members and Exceldor was reached on June 26, with 66% of the striking workers voting in favor of the agreement.
Exceldor, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, is a 260-member cooperative that processes about 1.5 million chickens and turkeys per week. P&H Foods, a subsidiary, produces and sells products under the Butterball brand in Canada under a licensing agreement with Butterball LLC.
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