Calls to put breaks on salmon processing region of Quellon, southern Chile.
On Tuesday, BioBio Chile reported that Municipal Council of Quellón has called for salmon companies to shut down for two weeks.
Without naming any specific salmon farmers, the publication said that this was due to allegations of COVID-19 outbreaks by workers in processing sites.
The industry group SalmonChile said that its territorial director Tomas Monge is proposing to set up a working table to discuss the issue.
On Tuesday evening, the trade organisation Salmon Council (Consejo del Salmón), formed of AquaChile, Cermaq, Mowi, and Salmones Aysén released a statement about the “complex health scenario” facing the country in the face of increased coronavirus cases. But it did not mention specifically the authority’s request to close operations.
“The situation in the Los Lagos Region has worsened, so it is essential that we work together to stop the increase in contagions,” said executive director Joanna Davidovich.
She added that its four council partner companies are currently demanding negative PCR test results from all their workers at each shift during operations.
AquaChile has processing site in Quellón, that has an annual production capacity of 140 thousand tonnes, the world’s largest.
