COPENHAGEN, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Danish Crown, a food processing company dealing primarily in meat processing of pork and beef, on Tuesday sent an initial 30 employees home in quarantine after three cases of COVID-19 were detected in 48 hours in the workplace, according to a press release of the company.
Danish Crown, which turns over 60 billion Danish Kroner (9.4 billion U.S. dollars) a year, closed down an entire department at the slaughterhouse where the infection was detected and contacted the health authorities to inquire whether all of the slaughterhouse's around 900 employees in Ringsted, 67 km southwest of Copenhagen, should be tested.
"It is important to emphasize that COVID-19 is not transmitted through food. When we react as quickly as we do, it is because, already in March, we made a clear plan for what we do when an employee is found to be infected with COVID-19. That plan is based on quick detection of possible contact persons and tests that follow the authorities' recommendations," said Per Laursen, production director at Danish Crown Pork.
According to the press release, Danish Crown first became aware of the infection at the workplace after an employee informed the company on Sunday that he had COVID-19.
Then on Monday afternoon, another employee was found infected after reporting ill and on Tuesday a third employee received a positive result following limited testing taken in the workplace on Monday.
"It is unclear how the employees have been infected, and we also do not know if there has been a spread at the slaughterhouse, but to ensure the best possible outcome we have chosen to close the department in question and we are in close dialogue with the authorities, so that together we can make the most effective response," said Per Laursen.
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Denmark rose by 30 since Monday to stand at 13,577 with the number of deaths unchanged at 613, according to the Statens Serum Institut's daily update on Tuesday. Enditem
