Thailand's CP Foods closes poultry factory after coronavirus found among workers

[webfact]

File photo: Reuters/Lucas Jackson

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's largest agribusiness firm Charoen Pokphand Foods Pcl said on Sunday it had closed one of its factories for five days after several workers tested positive for COVID-19.

 

The company's poultry processing plant in Saraburi province will be shut from Sunday to Thursday, the company said in a statement. Operations at its 18 other food-processing and feed factories will remain normal, it said.

 

Out of 5,800 workers at the closed plant, 245 have tested positive, while others are still waiting to be tested or to receive test results, said the Saraburi provincial administration.

 

Thailand has reported 154,307 coronavirus cases since last year, with total casualties topping 1,000 on Sunday.

 

On Friday, Sri Trang Gloves Pcl also closed glove factories in Trang and Surat Thani provinces for three days from Friday, after dozens of workers tested positive.

 

Earlier this month, Cal-Comp Electronics Thailand Pcl closed a factory in Phetchaburi province for 14 days until this coming Thursday to stem infections among its workers.

 

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Tom Hogue)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-05-31

 

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[webfact]

391 poultry plant workers in Saraburi infected with COVID-19

 

 

An additional 146 workers at a chicken processing plant, belonging to CPF Company in Thailand’s central province of Saraburi, have been found infected with COVID-19 today (Sunday), bringing the total so far to 391, according to Saraburi provincial authorities.

 

Of the confirmed cases, 151 are Thai nationals and 240 are Cambodian. 166 are male and 225 are female. About 3,400 workers, of the plant’s 5,862 employees, have been tested so far, with results now available for 2,299 of whom.

 

All of the infected employees have been admitted to either a state hospital in the province or a field hospital, located at a scout’s camp in Kaeng Khoi district. Another 400 bed field hospital is being set up within the plant’s compound. The plant has been closed for five days.

 

Source: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/391-poultry-plant-workers-in-saraburi-infected-with-covid-19/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-05-31

 

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[ukrules]

It's a good job this hugest of monopolies doesn't control the countries food supply ????

[smedly]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

Another 400 bed field hospital is being set up within the plant’s compound

 

I wonder who that will be for

 

This factory is a place were employeees are wearing what amounts to PPE, of course they don't sleep in them, it raises the question again about cheap labour migrants accommodation and working conditions 

[Damrongsak]

Singapore had problems with Covid in crowded migrant worker's quarters.  That happens when you crowd people together. 

 

Shame they had to close the chicken plant.  I was hoping to get a job there as a chicken dragger.  That's where you drag a chicken carcass through large vats of hot water to make chicken broth. 

[Fex Bluse]

Once again, if Thailand did mass testing, they'd find tens of thousands of unreported cases. 

[Damrongsak]

53 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Once again, if Thailand did mass testing, they'd find tens of thousands of unreported cases. 

To date, the U.S. has done 443,547,195 tests.  My Mom is in an old folks home here and has had at least a half dozen tests, perhaps more.  Covid ran through there like wildfire earlier in the year though it seems to be under control now. They had about 50 cases and a number of deaths and they have about 100 residents. 

[Blumpie]

The same thing happened here - they shut down the plants and it caused a food shortage.  

 

[jacko45k]

Just now, Blumpie said:

The same thing happened here - they shut down the plants and it caused a food shortage.  

 

And where might 'here' be? 

[MasterBaker]

well, at least they are not saying that it's safe to eat their chicken..

 

edit: No COVID-19 contamination of chicken meat – Thailand’s Livestock Dept. '

 

i stand corrected, that DLD guy just determined it by sticking a probe in the chicken breast

Edited May 30, 2021 by MasterBaker

[Excel]

151 Thai, 240 Cambodian and what was I saying in another thread about migrant labour helping to boost profits for the billionaires ? Hope all these people recover and irrespective of their nationality they receive the same medical treatment and care, but I doubt it though. 

[Tarteso]

What ?

[Blumpie]

32 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

And where might 'here' be? 

Why do you want to know?  ????

[Ralf001]

lol @ "several workers tested positive".

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

An additional 146 workers at a chicken processing plant, belonging to CPF Company in Thailand’s central province of Saraburi, have been found infected with COVID-19 today (Sunday), bringing the total so far to 391, according to Saraburi provincial authorities.

Safe to say Covid is now everywhere... not just clusters.

[Excel]

2 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Safe to say Covid is now everywhere... not just clusters.

Its been a nationwide "cluster" since last year I suspect. They have just avoided testing so they can pretend to the world they have done well, but behind their smarmy faces the only thing they have done is p$$$$$$d on the population.

[mtls2005]

Tom Kha Gack.

 

 

With food processing, distribution and markets affected, inflation will surely uptick.

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Operations at its 18 other food-processing and feed factories will remain normal, it said.

I hope they are doing outreach testing at those facilities as I am sure managers travel from one to another and even the delivery drivers go around to them all. Just my view.

[wensiensheng]

1 hour ago, Blumpie said:

Why do you want to know?  ????

Because otherwise your post is irrelevant?

[orchis]

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/left-to-eat-raw-meat-in-the-dark-workers-sealed-in-thai-factory-protest-mistreatment/

[Cake Monster]

5 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Once again, if Thailand did mass testing, they'd find tens of thousands of unreported cases. 

I find it quite disgusting that a massive Conglomerate such as CP Foods, who are supplying items for Human consumption, did not have a screening regime in place for the entire workforce.

Not just this one plant, but all CP Plants across the Nation.

Again, we are reading reports of an outbreak that could so easily been avoided if proper protocol had been observed by the Company.

Profits and Share price over all else.

 

[unblocktheplanet]

5 hours ago, MasterBaker said:

well, at least they are not saying that it's safe to eat their chicken..

 

edit: No COVID-19 contamination of chicken meat – Thailand’s Livestock Dept. '

 

i stand corrected, that DLD guy just determined it by sticking a probe in the chicken breast

I think the PM could use one of those probes!

[Excel]

6 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Once again, if Thailand did mass testing, they'd find tens of thousands of unreported cases. 

Possibly millions

[Saddic]

no word on testing the poultry they packed up?...  oh that's right, no test, no reason to suspect it's contaminated

[johng]

1 minute ago, Saddic said:

no word on testing the poultry they packed up?.

 

If you follow normal kitchen hygiene  for dealing with raw meat, washing your hands and surfaces that it has touched

and cooking it properly  I'd think there is very little chance of infection    ok  not 0%  chance  but maybe 0.04% ????????

[Fex Bluse]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Out of 5,800 workers at the closed plant, 245 have tested positive, while others are still waiting to be tested or to receive test results, said the Saraburi provincial administration.

 

To those astute readers out there.

 

This should give some indication as to Thailand's testing and confirmation capacity.

 

They have a group of 5,800 workers at one of the country's premiere company factories.

 

This happened many days ago but they have still not tested and confirmed all the 5,800 workers...

 

What is the countries daily testing and confirmation capacity???

 

Does anyone know???

[Excel]

9 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

 

To those astute readers out there.

 

This should give some indication as to Thailand's testing and confirmation capacity.

 

They have a group of 5,800 workers at one of the country's premiere company factories.

 

This happened many days ago but they have still not tested and confirmed all the 5,800 workers...

 

What is the countries daily testing and confirmation capacity???

 

Does anyone know???

Let me put some points to you.

1) I posted many times about migrant workers at rural factories owned by billionaires

2) My wife's Uncle has worked at that particular plant in Saraburi for many years and has a good position.

3) He was scheduled to come home to our village 3 weeks ago yesterday as was his planned trip to visit his family. However one of the team was ill and management said stay.

4) he told his family 2 weeks ago it apeared that many workers had symoms of covid yet the factory senior management had asked production to continue as normal

5) 5 days ago the factory went into lockdown the result we are reading today.

6) of those thousands of workers it appears that 20 -25% do not live in the factory "camp" rather love elsewhere locally

 

So form you own conclusions as to the prudence of this particular company and the risk of exposure outside of the factory gates.

 

As a bye on another thread somebody remarked that at the weekend the price of chicken was increased by 20-25% at Macro. The owners of Macro are the same as the factory in Saraburi so clearly they were already preparing to maximise profit in the event that chicken sales would now decline due to the government induced paranoria of declaring chicken meat is safe from covid. Of course it it is but by stating that then the gullible public , who distrust the government, will think just the opposite and boycott chicken. Let's see how that plays out.

 

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, orchis said:

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/left-to-eat-raw-meat-in-the-dark-workers-sealed-in-thai-factory-protest-mistreatment/

Last year they were being dumped at Chonburi bus station and told to make their own way back....... callous treatment.