A chicken abattoir with about 5,000 workers in Saraburi province is spreading Covid-19 to provinces, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.
Updating the outbreak in the central plain province, CCSA spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangson said on Wednesday that the factory employed more than 4,000 Thai workers and more than 1,000 migrant workers, mostly Cambodians.
The spokesperson said infections were confirmed in many departments including a shop, a butchery zone, a raw materials zone and a back office. She did not name the factory, but a large number of Covid-19 cases have recently been found at a chicken plant complex owned by Charoen Pokphand Food Plc in Kaeng Khoi district of Saraburi.
"The disease is expanding throughout the factory," Dr Apisamai said.
The spokeswoman said that infections among Cambodian workers were 3.9 times higher than among Thai nationals at the plant.
Testing found 275 Cambodian workers had Covid-19, while 1,362 others did not -- a rate of 16.8%. Meanwhile, 206 Thai workers had the disease while 4,007 others did not -- a rate of 4.9%.
Cambodian workers lived in the dormitories at their workplace while their Thai colleagues lived at home or in nearby dormitories outside the complex.
Those workers commuted using various means of transportation, including private vehicles and company buses.
The workers' living quarters were crowded, with 3-6 workers in each room. They ate together, shared public space and also travelled to numerous provinces.
Few technicians and skilled workers contracted Covid-19, Dr Apisamai said, because they generally took more precautions.
The outbreak of the disease in the manufacturing sector is worrying, the spokesperson said.
"The disease is spreading at factories and workplaces including plants making coconut milk, ice, sauce, medical equipment and children's products in several provinces. The disease must be contained and prevented from spreading to communities while their operations must continue to protect the economy and society," she said.
All large factories must evaluate their own disease control measures by June 15. Those with poor disease control would be given directions on transmission prevention, Dr Apisamai said.
