The feds are giving $50 million to help food producers with the mandatory 14-day quarantine imposed on temporary foreign workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement, made by Agriculture Minister Marie Claude Bibeau Monday (April 13), is the latest pandemic measure from the federal government. It comes after an outbreak at a West Kelowna garden centre that resulted in 63 migrant workers and 12 locals in isolation late last month. That outbreak led to at least 19 cases of COVID-19.
“These isolation rules come with a cost for businesses,” the minister said.
Bibeau said the funding will be doled out at $1,500 per worker, given out to employers to modify current accommodations, rent new ones or pay workers for the duration of the 14-day quarantine.
The agriculture minister said foreign temporary workers are checked for symptoms before they leave their country of origin and when they get to Canada, but are only tested if they show COVID-19 symptoms.
Canada’s chief medical health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said there are 24,804 cases and 734 deaths due to the novel coronavirus as of Monday morning.
READ MORE: Interior Health confirms five additional cases in West Kelowna COVID-19 outbreak
More to come.
