The Better Beef plant in Guelph will re-open Dec. 29, the company has announced.
It has been shut down because of an outbreak of COVID-19.
It employs about 950 workers, of which 82 tested positive for the virus and another 129 went into self-isolation because of their potential exposure to infected fellow workers.
The company said “employees should not come to work with COVID-19 symptoms or if they have had contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.”
Cargill owns the plant which is the largest east of Alberta and crucial to Ontario’s beef farmers since there are few alternative plants available to slaughter their market-ready cattle.
The federal and provincial governments announced they have $5 million available to help the farmers who were unable to slaughter their cattle. They can apply for the money to cover costs such as feed.
