Manitoba health officials reported 17 new cases of novel coronavirus Friday as Maple Leaf confirmed 10 employees at their Brandon pork processing plant have tested positive for the virus.
At a 1 p.m. press conference Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer confirmed reporting from the union representing workers at the plant that said four more employees had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday morning.
But Maple Leaf’s president and CEO Michael McCain said another two workers had tested positive in a statement posted to the company’s website around 3 p.m., bringing the total number of workers at the plant who have tested positive since the weekend to 10.
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McCain said there is no indication the illness is spreading inside the facility, echoing what Roussin had said earlier in the day.
“Not a single case acquired it there from our investigation,” Roussin said at a Friday press conference.
4:25 Self-isolation dos and don’ts
Self-isolation dos and don’ts
The cases at Maple Leaf are linked to a cluster of 34 cases in Brandon, Roussin said, and appear to be connected to a person who travelled from Eastern Canada.
Roussin added that there is indication of community spread in Brandon.
The 17 new cases reported province-wide Friday bring Manitoba’s total number of lab-confirmed and probable cases reported since March to 491 and include 10 from the Prairie Mountain Health region, five in Winnipeg, and two people in southern Manitoba.
Roussin said as of Friday nine people are in hospital with COVID-19, including three in intensive care.
He said there are currently 132 active known cases in Manitoba and 351 people have recovered from the virus.
The number of Manitobans who have died from COVID-19 since March remains at eight.
Union calls for closure of Maple Leaf plant
Jeff Traeger, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832, said he expects more Maple Leaf employees will test positive.
“We are renewing our call on Maple Leaf to halt production in the Brandon plant until this situation is under control,” Traeger said in a memo Friday morning.
The union, which represents nearly 2,000 workers at the plant, said many employees have asked if they can refuse to go to work. The union said it is complicated, since the province has deemed their work essential and the facility safe.
Public health and workplace safety authorities inspected the plant Thursday, and the company said the results support its decision to continue operations.
Roussin said the industry has learned from serious outbreaks at meat-processing plants in southern Alberta this spring.
Premier Brian Pallister said the province would only step in if recommended by health experts. He noted that the rise in cases shows people need to remain vigilant.
“Safety is the key to this recovery,” the premier said. “There is nothing more important than that.”
The cases at the meat plant come as the Tim Hortons restaurant at 1845 Middleton Ave. in Brandon was forced to close after the company said an employee there has also tested positive for COVID-19.
At the Friday briefing Roussin warned of a potential exposure at the Tim Hortons that may have occurred Aug. 1. He said the while the risk of transmission is low at the restaurant, located along the Trans-Canada Highway at 18th Street, customers should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days and seek testing should symptoms develop.
Roussin now also saying masks are advisable when you can’t distance. He said especially in Brandon right now mask use should be thought of more frequently.
A spokesperson from Tim Hortons tells Global News employees who worked closely with the employee who has tested positive are self-isolating for 14 days and the restaurant will remain closed until it can be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized and a separate crew of workers can be brought in.
While Manitoba has yet to mandate mask wearing to stem the spread of COVID-19, on Friday Roussin said wearing a mask is advisable when physical distancing isn’t possible, especially in Brandon right now.
When asked about masks Friday morning, Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest said the city is following the guidance of public health officials.
Chrest while people in Brandon are concerned said he’s been impressed by the work health authorities and affected businesses have done to try and control the outbreak.
“All of the companies that have been identified are doing a superb job of following the health protocols, locking down situations.. outright closing their store in the case of Tim Hortons to make sure that there isn’t any further spread,” he told 680 CJOB Friday morning.
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2:47 Coronavirus: Manitoba reports 30 new cases, potential exposure on Air Canada flight
Coronavirus: Manitoba reports 30 new cases, potential exposure on Air Canada flight
“We know that the virus is still in our province and still in our community and it seems that every health region has sadly taken its turn in this thing with a bit of an outbreak and right now we’re having one to deal with.”
The province says 1,452 lab tests for COVID-19 were done Thursday, bringing the total number of tests completed in Manitoba since early February to 96,999.
The new cases reported Friday bring the province’s test positivity rate to 1.10 per cent.
Coronavirus: After long-weekend spike, Manitoba announces 2 additional COVID-19 cases
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
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Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
