Migrant worker advocate calls for compassionate response as outbreak worsens on Norfolk farm
Health unit says 164 workers at Vittoria operation have tested positive
An advocate for migrant workers in Norfolk County is asking residents not to stigmatize offshore workers in light of a COVID-19 outbreak on a local farm.
The health unit now says 164 Mexican farm workers at Scotlynn Group in
Vittoria have tested positive for the virus. Most are asymptomatic.
As of Monday, seven workers had been hospitalized, with three in intensive care.
While testifying at an Ontario Health Services Appeal and Review Board hearing on Monday, a senior county official said two workers didn’t tell farmer Scott Biddle or the health unit that they experienced COVID-19 symptoms during their two-week quarantine.
“Two of the workers said they developed symptoms during their self-isolation and did not disclose them,” Marlene Miranda testified. “If they are symptomatic, they should be disclosing that.”
Miranda was not available on Tuesday to provide further details, such as the nature and timing of the alleged symptoms or how it came to light that they had been hidden.
Spokesperson Matt Terry clarified that the health unit is looking into various
scenarios and has not determined what started the outbreak, which sent 190 workers into quarantine and threatens Scotlynn’s asparagus harvest.
“The health unit is at the beginning of its epidemiological analysis of this outbreak, and so has yet to determine how the virus spread to the farm,” Terry said.
“Regardless of what is determined, however, it is not the role of the health unit to cast blame for an outbreak. The priority is protecting the health and well-being of migrant workers and the members of the larger community.”
Eustace Orleans-Lindsay, a Simcoe pharmacist and chair of the Norfolk Seasonal Agricultural Worker Community Committee, is worried that the outbreak will deepen feelings of prejudice in the community against seasonal workers who spend up to half the year in Norfolk.
“These guys came, they were healthy, and this thing unfortunately has happened. But we should not treat them with a lens of stigma. We should be compassionate,” said OrleansLindsay, who manages a health clinic for migrant workers.
“They tested a lot of the workers, and so obviously you’re going to see more positive cases. But that doesn’t mean that they are symptomatic. A lot of us may be walking around as asymptomatic carriers, but we’re not tested so we don’t know.”
Miranda said the last of Scotlynn’s 221 migrant workers, who spent their mandatory isolation period in hotel rooms paid for by the company, cleared quarantine in midMay. The health unit is tracing contacts and has tested workers at a local store, as well as Canadians working on the farm
Mayor Kristal Chopp urged residents not to rush to judgment about Norfolk’s first onfarm outbreak, and instead let the health unit’s investigation play out.
“I ask everyone not to jump to conclusions or look to blame someone,” Chopp said.
Orleans-Lindsay is concerned for the mental health of workers who came to Canada to make money for their families and ended up infected with a potentially fatal disease. About a quarter of the workers at Scotlynn are over 50, with the oldest being 71.
“Even though some of them might have been coming here for years, still, they are far away from home (and) their loved ones,” Orleans-Lindsay said.
“For us Canadians working, this period is really stressful. Our employers have to provide extra support during this time. So I can only imagine what will be going on with respect to the seasonal agricultural workers when it comes to mental health and wellness at this point.”
Workers also face the challenge of navigating a foreign health-care system, he added.
“This is going to take a toll on them if we do not find some kinds of intervention, from the public health perspective, to provide them with some supports to allay their fears,” Orleans-Lindsay said.
“Because now they are thinking, ‘What are we going to do?’ Basically they are here to make money to send back home. And so now, if they are not able to work, how are they going to get that money?”
Miranda testified that the affected workers are continuing to be paid at the farm’s expense.
Orleans-Lindsay hopes that rather than casting aspersions via social media, Norfolk residents and Canadians as a whole appreciate the central role migrant workers play in the food system.
“We should be thankful for the farmers and the farm workers who are able to still be in the fields at this time. I shudder at how the price of food is going up already,” he said.
J.P. Antonacci’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about the regions of Haldimand and Norfolk.