Victoria has confirmed 17 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus overnight, 11 of which are linked Cedar Meats Australia. This brings the total of confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the Brooklyn-based abattoir to 45.
In an interview with the Victorian Country Hour, general manager of Cedar Meats, Tony Kairouz, said that despite the rise of COVID-19 cases in its workforce, the meat that is processed is safe, despite him shutting down the operations of the abattoir.
“It is predominantly an export facility. Very little meat ends up on the domestic market,” he said.
“There’s absolutely zero speculation we have about whether the meat is safe here. We know it is safe.”
Of the other cases overnight, two were identified at drive-through testing sites, one of which was in a mandatory hotel quarantine after returning from a trip overseas. The other cases are still under investigation.
There are currently 11 people in Victoria in hospital with the virus, six of which are in intensive care.
Victoria now has 1,432 confirmed cases, 1,166 cases in Melbourne and 218 in regional areas.
Photo: Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by NIAID available HERE
