Ontario testing migrant farm workers after coronavirus deaths, severe cases

TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) – Ontario has started testing about 8,000 migrant farm workers for COVID-19 in a hard-hit rural region of the province after two young workers died and the coronavirus was found on at least 17 farms, according to the local public health authority. The Ontario outbreak has centered on farms in the Windsor-Essex region, across from the Michigan border. Canadian farmers rely on 60,000 temporary foreign workers predominantly from Latin America and the Caribbean to plant and harvest crops. Two workers from Mexico, aged 24 and 31, have died in recent days after contracting the virus. The provincial coroner is investigating the death of the 31-year-old worker. Nurses, doctors and paramedics, including home care nurses who speak Spanish, are going to farms to check on sick workers and ensure exposure to the virus is contained, said Erie Shores hospital chief of staff Ross Moncur. “The impact on the individuals has been more severe than we would have anticipated,” he said. “Going into this, we would have said, temporary foreign workers are young, healthy, folks in general … but we’ve seen some severe cases.” About 200 farm workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, said Wajid Ahmed, medical officer of… Read full this story

• Six years a slave: Migrant farm worker exploited in Italy
• Global coronavirus death toll surpasses 10,000, California governor asks all 39M residents to stay at home
• India COVID-19 Tracker: 109 deaths, 4067 cases — state wise list of casualties and infections
• Trump questions accuracy of China's coronavirus death toll
• With COVID-19, nearly half of U.S. farm workers are 'first in exposure, last in protection'
• New data again suggests Russia's coronavirus deaths are higher than its official count
• One Year, 400,000 Coronavirus Deaths: How the U.S. Guaranteed Its Own Failure
• US coronavirus death toll crosses 5,000
• Hit the hardest by coronavirus deaths, NY Latinos mourn loved ones
• Why is Germany's coronavirus death rate so low? A strong healthcare system, mass testing and luck
• CDC releases new data as debate grows over racial disparities in coronavirus deaths
• The U.S. coronavirus death toll has hit 4,000, while over 7,000 have recovered from infection

Ontario testing migrant farm workers after coronavirus deaths, severe cases have 333 words, post on www.reuters.com at June 9, 2020. This is cached page on CHUTEU. If you want remove this page, please contact us.