Second outbreak at Conestoga Meats declared over by public health

Investing millions in enhanced cleaning measures and working closely with the Region of Waterloo Public Health, the large second outbreak at Conestoga Meat Packers in Breslau was declared over on Saturday afternoon.

Referred to on the dashboard as “Food Processing 1”, public health has not named the workplace due to privacy concerns – though multiple sources have confirmed the location to be Conestoga Meat Packers in Breslau.

Prior to Saturday’s regional COVID-19 dashboard update, the food processing plant was said to have had 165 positive cases attributed to its second outbreak with no related deaths.

In late January, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu Li Wang said our region’s public health unit was working closely with the food processing plant, as she noted that strong infection and prevention control measures were in place. In her update, Dr. Wang said as many as 103 cases reported have been acquired from a source that was unknown or being assessed. Another large portion was assessed to be community-acquired – through social interactions and household contact amongst workers outside the workplace.

The most recent outbreak declared active on December 29th, marks the second outbreak at Conestoga Meats.

At no point was the outbreak at the facility considered a risk for the broader community, as Dr. Wang stressed that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has noted there is no evidence to suggest that food is a likely source or route of transmission of the virus.