Turks Poultry Farm, one of the largest employers in Foxton, able to continue processing during the current Omicron outbreak due to excellent management processes. Photo / Nikki Carroll
Turks Poultry Farm, one of the largest employers in Foxton, able to continue processing during the current Omicron outbreak due to excellent management processes. Photo / Nikki Carroll
The current Covid-19 outbreak is impacting everyone across the Horowhenua district, none less so than businesses with large staff numbers, like Countdown, Turks Poultry Farm and Lewis Farms.
According to a Countdown spokesperson, with the current situation moving so quickly, they don't have the capacity to provide regional breakdowns atthe moment.
However, by Wednesday March 9, the company had about 1900 team members away throughout New Zealand, either isolating as a positive case or as a household contact.
"With fewer people working right across the supply chain, including those of our suppliers, we are seeing impacts, but our focus remains on making sure we're getting as much stock as possible into our stores and looking after our team and customers."
Throughout New Zealand, Countdown has around 1900 team members isolating as either positive cases or household contacts. Photo / Nikki Carroll
Some stores are reducing trading hours if needed, to ease the pressures on their team and temporarily closing some deli and bakery service counters, so staff can help out in other priority areas of the stores including checkouts and online shopping.
Mike Turk, of Turks Poultry Farm in Foxton, said the first few cases among staff happened around the end of February, but the business already had processes to manage the situation right from the change to the red traffic light level in January.
"As a critical workplace [involved in food production] only staff with Covid had to isolate for the full period … household contacts could do daily RATs [rapid antigen tests] and come into work if negative," he said.
Those tests were provided by the company, with staff driving in to the parking lot, winding down their window just wide enough to pass through the RATs and then parking up to wait for a text message giving the result.
Turks Poultry Farm in Foxton have a set up drive-in RATs testing process for staff as the Omicron outbreak continues to grow in the Horowhenua district. Photo / Nikki Carroll
"Sometimes there'd be a lineup of five or six cars waiting for that text or wave," said Mike, "and I'd say about 95 per cent of the Covid cases among our staff were caught at the door [through this process]."
Although Mike said it was difficult to access RATs at the beginning, health and safety manager Nathan Frost had managed to acquire a few before the first positive case appeared at work.
"Nathan has been an absolute star … designing the whole testing process ... communicating with the MOH [Ministry of Health] and leading a lot of the testing himself."
Turks had set up a back to work process for those staff who had been isolating; had some key staff working from home where possible; kept different shifts within the food plant separate; and had enhanced the sanitising process.
"We've been able to continue processing by adding on Saturday production, thanks to excellent support from our staff, and cutting down on the more labour intensive products," said Mike.
When speaking to Catherine Lewis, from Lewis Farms in Levin, she said staff were also stepping up under difficult circumstances which meant the business hadn't had any reduction in the level of food processing.
"At any one time we've had several staff away but as an essential workforce we've had good access to the rapid antigen tests," she said, "and the isolation period reduction to seven days [from 10] is definitely going to help."
Mike Turk did feel the communication from both MOH and MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) was not always delivered in a timely manner, especially for businesses such as the poultry farm, which needed change in production decisions to be made quickly.
"There are multiple different websites you need to check for the latest information, and they're not always updated at the same time," he said. "I can be making a dozen calls in one day trying to find out what we need to know."
Although he appreciated that government departments are under a lot of pressure, Mike believed that essential businesses, such as food processing, should be getting more unified and timely messages about any changes that needed to be made during the Omicron outbreak.
