‘Full-out onslaught’ on way to tackle farm crisis: Ford
Record-breaking COVID-19 spikes reported among migrant workers
With a sudden eruption in COVID-19 cases among farm workers in Essex County, authorities at three levels of government are rushing to implement options to quickly address a local health “crisis.”
While mobile teams with nurses and paramedics visit local farms, the Canadian Red Cross is on the ground, assessing local capacity should the surge continue. Soccer fields have been identified as potential sites for tent communities to isolate workers testing positive, arenas are on standby and the mayors of Leamington and Kingsville have even asked that the Canadian Forces be made available should the situation worsen.
Sunday and Monday saw record-breaking spikes in COVID cases reported in Windsor-essex, almost all of them migrant farm workers, and with a single agrifood operation registering 185 new positive cases in just two days.
“I don’t think this is contained to one farm,” Premier Doug Ford cautioned reporters Monday at his daily Queen’s Park media briefing.
“My heart breaks for the people in Leamington and Kingsville,” Ford said, adding senior government and health authorities have launched “a full-out onslaught down there to nip this in the butt.”
Leamington Mayor Hilda Macdonald said the federal government — responsible for programs that see about 8,000 temporary foreign workers brought in to help at Essex County farms — has agreed to address the housing situation. Crowded living conditions are considered a major factor in the spread of the virus within the local agri-food sector.
All migrant workers entering the country from Mexico or other countries are placed in 14-day quarantine and deemed COVIDFREE before starting work, but more than 670 have tested positive in Essex County since March.
“Was this farm an anomaly? The next few days will determine which way we go,” Macdonald told the Star Monday.
To address the challenge of self-isolation among those who test positive, close to 200 hotel and motel rooms are being reserved for those who test positive but are not showing symptoms.
Macdonald said local soccer pitches and baseball diamond parks have been identified for tents should an additional need arise. Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos said two centres have been earmarked in his town and a 50bed “pod” — similar to the field hospital set up at St. Clair College — has been borrowed from Bruce Power and delivered locally, ready to be assembled if needed.
“We’re not just going to put these people in a hotel and walk away — there will be oversight and health checks,” Macdonald said.
Ford said he had “great conversations” over the weekend with both Santos and Macdonald. The three had some good news to share in that testing at several other farms came back with no COVID -19 positive cases.
“He said he’s been hearing from the community and he’s been speaking with various ministries,” said Santos.
Business owners and leaders in both communities have been urging the province for special assistance for Kingsville and Leamington, which remain the only municipalities in Ontario still stuck at Stage 1 of the recovery.
Santos said he’s seen five new For Lease signs going up on commercial properties over the past month in downtown Kingsville as business owners throw in the towel, and he’s worried about what might happen when July rents come due this week.
The two mayors will join small business owners and representatives from both towns at a news conference in Kingsville on Tuesday to “present a series of proposals necessary for their survival.” It takes place at 11 a.m. at the Carnegie Arts and Visitor Centre, 28 Division St. S.
The high COVID numbers over the weekend effectively shot down any hopes that the province would give the green light this week to Leamington and Kingsville joining the rest of Ontario at Stage 2.
“We’re not very optimistic as of today,” Santos said Monday.
Outside of the agri-food operations, however, both mayors said their community COVID -19 infection rates are below the provincial average.
Macdonald said the entire community “didn’t take this seriously enough at the beginning,” but that the seriousness of the issue has certainly hit home now. With many agencies and authorities now focused on the task, she expressed confidence the current planning and actions will prove effective.
One area where there is strong disagreement, she said, was with the province’s announcement last week that, with proper precautions, farm workers who test positive but display no symptoms could be permitted to continue to do their essential work on the farms. Macdonald said both the local health unit and the federal health minister remain opposed.
Last Friday, Health Minister Patty Hajdu told a parliamentary committee that some of the migrant worker stories she’s heard “would curl your hair,” and that the way some farmers treat those employees is “a national disgrace.”
While not providing details, Hajdu said she is working with Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough on reforming the temporary foreign worker program that draws about 60,000 workers to Canada to help domestic farms with planting and harvesting of food crops.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott on Monday said “we only want people who are feeling well, truly asymptomatic” to continue working, adding they “need to be housed separately,” even if it means finding off-farm accommodations.
Local health authorities would not name the farm that saw the big numbers of COVID -19 positive cases. Ford said 450 workers had been tested at that farm and that 175 had tested positive. He said he spoke with the owner of the farm and described him as “absolutely fantastic” and co-operative with health authorities.
“Clearly, there’s more to do,” said Justine Taylor, science and government relations manager with the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers.
She said OGVG members are “very concerned” with the impact of COVID-19 and are taking “extraordinary steps.”
“Our No. 1 focus in the coming days is ensuring our employees are healthy and safe,” she said.