Tuesday 30 June 2020

"Meat plants likely source of any coronavirus second wave"

From The Evening Standard:

Asked during a London Assembly investigation into coronavirus for the most likely sources of future outbreaks in the capital, Professor Fenton, the London director of Public Health England, said vigilance was needed in hospitals, care homes and people returning to the UK after foreign travel.

But he highlighted food factories as an “emerging area” of concern because of the proximity of workers to each other and the low pay, meaning staff were unlikely to be able to afford to self-isolate at home if they fell sick.

Outbreaks have been seen in food factories in Wales and Yorkshire, and in Germany, France, Spain and the US.


Interesting, the link is quite striking.

Prof Fenton thinks that the type of people who work there are the common denominator (see also - care home workers). Last month, Sky News quoted an expert who thought it was a combination of close proximity of workers and the fact that these places are kept so cold (not good for immune system).

The other possible link is the animals and meat themselves, as these outbreaks don't seem to happen in other frozen food factories. Which would sort of prove the militant vegetarians right. Oo-er.

2 comments:

Sackerson said...

Is a beefsteak tomato a meat plant?

Mark Wadsworth said...

S, it's a poorly chosen phrase, isn't it?