Mass testing for migrant workers will be rolled out in Windsor-Essex next week after a 24-year-old worker died from COVID-19.
The migrant worker from Mexico was one of six people pulled from hotels and bunk houses in Essex County by Erie Shores Healthcare (ESH) and Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) for medical treatment last week.
He was admitted to ESH on June 1 before being transferred to WRH in critical condition; he died Friday, according to hospital officials.
"We're devastated. We've been in contact with many workers this morning and they are devastated to know that one of their comrades, a fellow farm worker, has passed," says Chris Ramsaroop with Justice for Migrant Workers, who goes on to question how someone that was in need of critical care could be left in a hotel or bunk-house until medical officials found them.
Ramsaroop called for mass testing and more oversight of living conditions last week after numerous reports companies were failing to separate COVID-19 positive workers and sanitize workplaces.
He tells AM800 News someone needs to be held accountable for the spread of the virus in the migrant worker population.
"Demand for justice will continue. At this point it is critical for us to hold both the provincial and federal government responsible for this negligence," he says. "These deaths and the continued sickness that's spreading through the agricultural industry could have been prevented."
Ramsaroop says he's sick of watching people suffer after preventable deaths and injuries.
"Year after year I get to know the families of the deceased workers, they're friends," says Ramsaroop. "This anger and sadness doesn't leave us because we know each one of these deaths could have been prevented if the government had taken the necessary steps to protect the interests of workers and it hasn't to this date."
A 31-year-old migrant worker also died this week due to COVID-19.
Mass swabbing of migrant workers will begin Tuesday, but Ramsaroop says everyone working on area farms should be swabbed.
He says migrants aren't bringing the virus into the country; they're contracting it from the community.