A greenhouse where workers pack strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes to be sold in grocery stores including Walmart has become the latest ...
A greenhouse where workers pack strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes to be sold in grocery stores including Walmart has become the latest COVID-19 hotspot in New York.
Since March 21, 139 workers from Green Empire Farms in Oneida have tested positive for the virus - nearly all of the 189 that have had test results returned.
Two of the cases have been hospitalized. There have not yet been any reported deaths.
The farm is owned by Canadian company Mastronardi Produce and its goods are packaged under the Sunset label.
It has 300 employees in total and there are fears that it is the 'perfect breeding ground' for the deadly virus that has killed more than 72,000 people across the country and infected more than 1lmillion.
Green Empire Farms in Oneida, New York, is now a hotspot for the virus. 139 of its 300 employees have tested positive since the first case was found on March 21
The farm packages fruit and vegetables that is packaged by Sunset and sold in grocery stores like Walmart
Despite recording its first case on March 21, employees have continued coming to work
The first employee tested positive for the virus on March 21, but the company that owns the site did not shut it down. Instead, they asked five people who worked near that employee to quarantine.
The farm continued to operate, with some workers staying mostly in one of two hotels nearby and taking buses to and from the job site. But their accommodation could be one of the reasons it continues to spread among them.
Families of some of the employees say their employers knew about some cases as far back as March but did not alert the public.
As of Tuesday, it was still operating, with at least one employee calling out sick because they did not want to catch the virus, according to one of their relatives.
The farm insists its workers have been having their temperatures checked every day for weeks. Since April 13, all workers have been mandated to wear masks but they were not before then.
While the company insists there is no risk to produce and that the virus is not transferred through food.
But it is the latest food manufacturing plant that has seen an outbreak.
Kathy Risley, who has two relatives who work at the farm, claims bosses have known about the cases for weeks. Twenty meat packing plants have closed across the country after outbreaks among employees, triggering fears for whether or not the country will run out of fresh meat.
'They have had cases for the last two months that they have not really made the public aware of.
'Then they were not really taking precautions to keep people separated or to protect this from spreading throughout the facility.
Gov. Cuomo called the farm a 'hot spot' on Wednesday during his daily briefing
'Some of these people don't speak English, so they may not even understand what they're supposed to be doing. So their employers should be educating, protecting them,' she said.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente says that Green Empire Farms is a 'perfect breeding ground' for the virus.
'You have to ask - what precautions were taken at that facility in terms of it? So, really don't know those answers.
'Have to talk more with the company and ask Madison County Health Department,' he said.
The farm is now under investigation by the Madison County Health Department.
It is unclear when the remainder of the employees will be tested or whether or not they will return to work on Wednesday or Thursday.
A spokesman for the company that owns the farm did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's inquiries on Wednesday.
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