Hamilton study aims to curb the spread of COVID-19 among migrant workers

A group of doctors is testing some of Hamilton's migrant farm workers once a week for COVID-19 as part of a study looking at how the virus behaves in congregate settings.

Hamilton has about 432 migrant workers staying at 80 bunkhouses in the city right now. Flamborough is the most common area for bunkhouses, with 56 in the former township.

The Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team (Hamsmart) is signing up as many migrant workers as possible to participate in the study, says Dr. Tim O'Shea, a Hamsmart founder and associate professor of infectious diseases at McMaster University.

His team hopes to test the workers for COVID-19 every week to catch cases beforepatients show symptoms, O'Sheasaid. The findings will help the team understand how regular testing impacts the spread of the virus in congregate settings information that will help homeless shelters, long-term care homes, or any environment where people live together.

The team has already tested people in local homeless shelters since April, he said. That project includesHamilton Public Health Services and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.

Growing calls to improve conditions for migrant farm workers

4 years ago

Duration 2:02

Advocates for migrant farm workers blame lax safety protocols and poor living conditions for COVID-19 outbreaks and want the federal and provincial government to do more to improve the situation.

But migrant workers are an area of special attention in Ontario now. Three workers from Mexico have died one in Norfolk County and two in Windsor-Essex. The youngest was 24.

Locally, 199 of the 221 migrant workersat Scotlynn Group in Vittoria fell ill with the virus, as well as 18 others connected to the farm.JuanLopez Chaparro, 55, died in a London hospital on June 20.

Workers hiding their illness

Scott Biddle, the owner of Scotlynn Group, says the rest of the workers are out of isolation and have returned to the farm.

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit's medical officer of health, Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, has also issued a Section 22 order mandating that only three newly arrived workers can self isolate in a bunkhouse at once, regardless of the floor space. A group of local farmers is fighting that order, saying the three-per-bunkhouse rule is arbitrary.

Marlene Miranda, Haldimand-Norfolk'sgeneral manager of health and social services, told the board of health in early July that some workers have tried to hide their illness, fearful that they'll lose money or be sent home.

O'Sheacould be facinga similar dynamic in getting workers to sign up for the research project.

"There are going to be some barriers, just in terms ofgetting trust from the farm workers themselves in terms of what the test entails, and what it means to get a positive result," O'Shea said.

Lukewarm interest so far

Some farmers are reluctant too, not keen on having outside people visitthe farm during a pandemic.

"Thus far, the interest has been I would say lukewarm," he said. "There's been a few farms interested in having us come out, and others who are, at this point in time, not interested."

O'Shea said the team has done more than 2,000 tests in the Hamilton shelter system. So far, no one has tested positive.

"On one hand, that's great," he said. "On the other, it hasn't helped us answer the question."

"The hope is that we're able to identify cases early enough that we can get people into isolation before it spreads, and hopefully prevent some of the other outbreaks we've seen in other areas of Ontario."