A Kingsville farmers market wants to maintain transparency after two workers tested positive for COVID-19 over the holidays.
Lee and Maria's Farm Market was able to continue operations throughout the coronavirus pandemic with some alterations. On top of that, the business had a record-breaking year for sales thanks to the unwavering support from locals.
On Saturday, Kathy Mastronardi, the vice-president of market and wholesale sales confirmed that two workers contracted the virus several days after the market concluded business for the season on December 22.
When the first worker tested positive, the rest of the staff sought testing which resulted in a positive case in the second worker.
"One of our staff members began to feel COVID symptoms and decided to get tested. That test came back positive just after Christmas." Mastronardi wrote in a statement posted to Lee and Maria's Facebook page. "Our shutdown was planned well in advance and isn’t related to the outbreak, but we are using it as a chance to do a deep clean of our market, including sanitizing all surfaces." She added.
As of January 3, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) has not contacted the second employee, or Lee and Maria's with additional health and safety measures. The business has not been placed into official outbreak status either. According to the WECHU website, a workplace outbreak is defined as two or more employees testing positive for COVID-19 within a reasonable timeline to suspect transmission in the workplace.
Lee and Maria's has made safety a priority since the beginning of the pandemic going as far as inviting a health and safety inspector out to oversee their processes.
Inside the store, customers and staff are required to maintain physical distance and wear masks, surfaces are also routinely sanitized. Additionally, the company switched delivery packaging from Rubbermaid containers to cardboard boxes to help prevent the risk of cross-contamination between households. While there is a small risk that the virus could briefly live on produce, this would be negated with thorough washing.
"We want to be that safe, smaller store for people who right now, may not feel comfortable shopping in a big supermarket," Mastronardi explained. "We’re confident in our processes, but this proves just how contagious this virus is."
Lee and Maria's will re-open on January 19 as originally planned, which will be nearly a month after the staff members received their positive tests.