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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2020)
A5 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 Outbreak: Company has had fi ve outbreaks across four locations Continued from Page A3 members that tracking how a workplace outbreak origi- nated and spread can be dif- fi cult. The agency organized the town hall after U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, an Ore- gon Democrat, expressed concerns that the commu- nity lacked information about the outbreak. “Outbreaks like this are complicated,” Allen said. “They can involve things like social events, people who have contact with other members of their household as well as employment. So, all of these things can work together to cause the number of cases to build up. It’s not so simple to point to just a particular event or a partic- ular place and say that was the cause of the outbreak.” Oregon OSHA’s response Brandie Hogg, director of team member services at Pacifi c Seafood, said the company has implemented stringent safety measures at their facilities since the start of the pandemic and has asked employees to adhere to similar safety measures at home and at off-site housing. Additionally, she said the company ensured that no more than two workers were assigned to any given room at off-site hotels. She said the company also took steps to ensure there was addi- tional spacing and manda- tory mask wearing in private transportation that Pacifi c Seafood provided to bring employees to work. Since the outbreak, Pacifi c Seafood has worked with the Oregon Health Authority to have staff on-site at the hotel to ensure that quarantine require- ments are followed and help deliver food and supplies to workers. “We really care about our team members and this community that we’ve been a part of since 1983,” Hogg said. “We have always ral- lied around our team in tough times. … During this pandemic, we continue that promise to do everything we can to support our team and the community, keeping each other safe.” But Oregon’s Occupa- tional Safety and Health division , which is tasked with enforcing the state’s workplace safety and health rules, has never conducted a formal enforceable inspec- tion at Pacifi c Seafood’s facilities to ensure that pan- demic-related safety mea- sures are being followed as reported. At least 317 cases have been linked to the com- pany from fi ve outbreaks across four locations. ferent from employer-pro- vided and operated labor housing. The only jurisdic- tion we would have over the hotel would be in regard to the employees of the hotel.” Oregon is in the process of adopting new temporary rules to beef up workplace standards in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. And the state already initi- ated an emphasis program for the food processing indus- try after a spate of outbreaks early in the pandemic, allow- ing more resources to be put toward proactively inspecting food processors. OSHA has also responded to workplace inspection requests from the Oregon Health Authority. only has the resources to inspect 2.5% of workplaces. “The threshold that it would take to get an inspec- tion initiated in normal times would probably be lower,” Wood said. “But as we make those decisions, we have to consider the rest of the work- load and the complaint vol- ume, including sites where we’ve had multiple com- plaints from workers about exposures and we haven’t necessarily inspected yet.” Outbreaks at Pacifi c Seafood That state’s response doesn’t change, even if a company has been linked to multiple outbreaks. anonymous complaint claimed that Pacifi c Sea- food workers were being required to return to work in May after testing posi- tive for COVID-19. OSHA couldn’t reach the com- plainant and resolved the complaint after being told by Pacifi c Seafood and local health authorities that no employees were being told to come to work after test- ing positive. Pacifi c Seafood’s safety plan requires workers to quarantine after testing pos- itive for COVID-19, but allows for close contacts who test negative and aren’t exhibiting symptoms to return to work immediately. ‘OUTBREAKS LIKE THIS ARE COMPLICATED. THEY CAN INVOLVE THINGS LIKE SOCIAL EVENTS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONTACT WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THEIR HOUSEHOLD AS WELL AS EMPLOYMENT. SO, ALL OF THESE THINGS CAN WORK TOGETHER TO CAUSE THE NUMBER OF CASES TO BUILD UP. IT’S NOT SO SIMPLE TO POINT TO JUST A PARTICULAR EVENT OR A PARTICULAR PLACE AND SAY THAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE OUTBREAK.’ Patrick Allen | the director of the Oregon Health Authority OSHA also doesn’t have the jurisdiction to inspect the off-site housing facilities where Pacifi c Seafood work- ers stay. The agency adopted a temporary rule in June at the urging of worker advo- cates meant to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within employer-provided housing. It has since inspected just three labor housing facili- ties, issuing one citation. But the labor housing must be employer-owned and oper- ated to fall under OSHA’s jurisdiction. “This is a lodging facil- ity that the employer has arranged to house people at,” said OSHA Administrator Michael Wood. “That’s dif- But the vast majority of inspections conducted by OSHA this year have been in response to the more than 11,000 complaints the agency has received regarding concerns related to workplace conditions amid the pandemic. Wood acknowledged there are con- cerns that agricultural and food processing workers, in particular, may not fi le com- plaints because of fear that they could lose their pay- check or face retaliation. The majority of work- places will never be inspected, even if there are complaints. Even in a typical year when it isn’t inundated with complaints, the agency Are you looking for a business banking partner? 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The That appears to have become a point of conten- tion between Pacifi c Sea- food and Clatsop County after a worker from Mol- dova tested positive upon arrival in Warrenton in June, according to emails reviewed by The Oregonian. County offi cials wanted close contacts who traveled with the worker to quar- antine but Pacifi c Seafood pointed to the state’s inves- tigative guidelines, which allow for asymptomatic exposed workers in essen- tial industries to return to work during the quarantine period if accommodations are made to prevent possi- ble exposure to other staff. According to The Asto- rian, the Oregon Health Authority took over con- tact tracing among Pacifi c Seafood workers after the dispute and took the lead following the outbreak at the Warrenton facility in September. A spokesman for the Oregon Health Author- ity said the agency stepped in to provide assistance at the request of the county following the September outbreak, but The Asto- rian reported that Clat- sop County wants to be the lead agency responding to any future coronavirus out- breaks at Pacifi c Seafood in Warrenton. Following the Septem- ber outbreak, Pacifi c Sea- food had both workers who tested positive and their close contacts quarantine, according to the Oregon Health Authority. The September out- break in Warrenton led Gov. Kate Brown to put Clat- sop County on the state’s coronavirus watch list. It also prompted the Warren- ton-Hammond School Dis- trict to close schools for in-person instruction. Pacifi c Seafood volun- tarily suspended all oper- ations on Sept. 24 after the extent of the outbreak became clear. The company began reopening on Sept. 30, bringing back a group of workers who had tested negative and had not been deemed close contacts. An additional group of workers who had previously tested positive but had completed their quarantine periods and been symptom-free for three days were brought back to work earlier in October . “We are quickly approaching the end of our fi rst testing group’s quar- antine periods and will continue to work with the Oregon Health Authority to create a plan to safely return them back to work in a phased reopening of our operation,” Hogg said. Medical Assistant Coastal Family Health Full-time, 40 hrs/wk Astoria, OR If you’re a Medical Assistant who wants to be part of a fast-paced care team, we want to talk to you! New MA grads and experienced MAs encouraged to apply. $17-$21/hr DOE. Requirements: HS diploma or GED Graduation from Medical Assistant training program Certified MA or able to become certified within 12 months Competitive pay and excellent benefits including M/D/V, Rx, 24/7 telemedicine, profit sharing, 403(b) retirement plan, PTO, paid holidays, uniform allowance, and more. 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