Tönnies builds Corona test center

Submitted by Fleischportal.de am 13 May 2020, Published in Companies

+++ 14-point plan presents a hygiene concept to minimize corona risk in the areas of work, living and transport +++
+++ Request to Minister Heil and Laumann for a round table +++

The Tönnies group of companies presents a comprehensive hygiene concept for its locations to further minimize the corona risk. The core element is the risk-based PCR sampling in our own test center. "This 14-point plan complements our strategy of the past weeks and sets clear rules and responsibilities," says Dr. Gereon Schulze Althoff, head of the pandemic crisis team. "We are continuing our strategy of risk minimization since the beginning of the pandemic in February and are creating binding requirements in the areas of living, transport and work." The company is in close coordination with the authorities on this.

“With the very extensive official tests that have now begun, we are given an up-to-date status. We can build on this and implement our strategy of breaking the infection chain even better, ”describes Dr. Schulze Althoff the situation. For the coming weeks and months in which the pandemic situation continues, the company will continue the tests in its own test center.

The first results for the Rheda site are expected on Wednesday. Experts from the health authorities assume that positive tests can be expected despite the absence of clinical symptoms. All 170 employees have been tested at the Kellinghusen site. Here all samples are negative. "We build on this interim result and try to minimize the risk over the long term," says Dr. Schulze Althoff.

"Our work since the beginning of the pandemic has been geared towards two things: the protection of employees and security of supply with meat and sausage," says Clemens Tönnies, managing partner of the company. The company has been analyzing and evaluating the measures taken by the pandemic crisis team on a weekly basis since February. This work will be continued in the following weeks, now with the even stricter rules of the hygiene concept.

"The political statements of the past few days are surprising to me, after all, we comply with the law, we are pioneers when it comes to living and create standards that are beyond the law," says Tönnies. "We offer to bring our experiences to a round table with the labor ministers Karl-Josef Laumann and Hubertus Heil, there is a need for a constructive dialogue."

In this context, Tönnies demands that the federal government regulate and audit apartments. “We need reliable standards that are checked and audited. This applies across industries to the meat industry, as well as to construction, mechanical engineering, the service sector or online mail order. ”

The Tönnies hygiene concept in detail:

Establishment of a Tönnies test center for PCR tests on COVID-19.
Voluntary PCR testing of contact persons in categories 1 and 2, if not already carried out by the authorities.
PCR testing of all employees who previously lived in residential units> 10 people.
PCR testing of all employees who have not been in the company for> 96 hours.
PCR testing in residential and visiting environments for future early warning messages from the health authorities.
PCR testing of all fever positives from daily temperature measurements with a thermal scanner at the production inputs.
Quarantine all new employees until submission of a negative result.
Provision of stand-by quarantine living space for infected people.
Weekly antibody screening of a representative sample in the Tönnies laboratory to determine a potential dark figure.
Reduction of the residential unit to a maximum of 10 people per residential unit. No collective accommodation like former barracks.
Urgent request to minimize the number of external visits for all employees.
Intensification of housing advice by the Tönnies integration officer.
Reduction of the transport density in cars to a maximum of 5 passengers / vehicle with a mouthguard requirement.
Establishment of a cooperative early warning system with the district health offices. In the case of Covid-positive information from service providers, this also applies if a contact person determination at the workplace is not necessary.