Nine refrigerators were stopped on 3 July due to cases of covid-19

Nine Brazilian slaughterhouses had slaughter activities paralyzed on July 3, due to the registration of Covid-19 cases among employees, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Wednesday night (15), in a report of the Federal Inspection Service (SIF).
Only in Rio Grande do Sul, three slaughterhouses were stopped (two of poultry and one of pigs). Rondônia (cattle), Paraná (birds), Tocantins (cattle), Paraíba (birds), São Paulo (birds) and Goiás (poultry and pigs) were also closed.
The SIF report, however, does not mention how many employees were contaminated in these units. There is also no national survey on coronavirus cases in slaughterhouses.
The Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, said in interviews that there is an internal study of the government with this information. G1 has requested access to the content, but has not yet received a response.
On the other hand, the SIF report points out that, in June 2020, 16 employees of the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (Dipoa) of the Ministry were diagnosed with Covid-19.
Dipoa currently has 1,588 employees working in slaughterhouses. In the last week of June, 117 of them were away because they were confirmed cases, suspected or had contact with infected people.
The report also shows that of the 27 SIF employees who have already had coronaviruses, 21 have already recovered and returned to work, representing 78% of recovery.
The Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) has carried out actions in slaughterhouses due to increased contamination among workers. Until July 7, the agency had requested, in court, the ban of 11 refrigerators in 6 states.
These actions came to receive criticism from the sector, as from leaders of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), which represents pork and chicken refrigerators. According to the association, there has been a "demonization" of the activity.
"There was an obligation to do TAC, the Terms of Conduct Adjustment with the MP, and few did not," said the president of ABPA, Francisco Turra, on Wednesday. The MPT closed TACs with 87 refrigeration units until July 7. Aurora, BRF, Marfrig and Minuano are some of the companies that sign the agreement.
Due to the increase in contamination, six Brazilian slaughterhouse units have already had exports suspended by China. Of the total, 4 are poultry and pigs (all in Rio Grande do Sul) and 2 are beef.
Before the pandemic, there were 63 units of chicken and pork meat that could sell to the Chinese, now there are 57.
According to Turra, there was a formal request from the Ministry of Agriculture to reopen the markets for these units, but that decision now depends on China.
Refrigerators are considered as essential activity in the pandemic and, therefore, have not paralyzed their operation. The sites have low temperatures and usually gather many employees on the production lines, which is a risk to contagion.
Brazil has 446 refrigerators, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture.