Contact tracing begins for Green Empire Farms employees who contracted the coronavirus

According to a report from the Rome Sentinel, workers at Green Empire Farms who have tested positive for the coronavirus have begun the process of being contact trace. The operation, located in Oneida County, New York, is owned and operated by Mastronardi Produce, the Canadian company behind Sunset Produce. The facility grower Sunset-branded berries, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. 

On Tuesday, per the Rome Sentinel, two more Green Empire employees tested positive for the coronavirus. That brings the total to 141 employees among the roughly 300 that work at the greenhouse that have tested positive. 

County leadership has said that the facility is large enough to remain open with properly implemented social distancing protocols.

“We have actually had our staff do walk through inspections, I mean they’re at quite a distance,” said Eric Faisst, the country Public Health Director, per CNYCentral. “Have you seen their facility, it is huge, it is large so distancing is quite easy to do in there.”

As tracing goes on, employees are being quarantined at hotels in the area. They are being isolated to select wings in the hotels with other guests staying in other wings. 

Green Empire Farms is lone of the largest greenhouse operations in the U.S. at almost 3 million square feet.