The JBS meat processing plant at Brooks has resumed full operations.

The City of Brooks has had an outbreak of COVID-19 related to the JBS plant. The plant employs about 2,500 people in the community. On Thursday, the plant reopened with two shifts.

On Friday, the province outlined a plan for relaunch for the City of Calgary and Brooks.

Premier Jason Kenney says, “I want to thank everyone in Calgary and Brooks for waiting patiently as we worked together to flatten the curve. We will continue to have a staggered approach to relaunch, but fortunately active cases have come down significantly from the peak of just a few weeks ago and it’s time to continue opening up our economy. I encourage folks to get outside, stay safe, and support local businesses.”

The first stage of the relaunch in Calgary and Brooks will be more gradual because, according to the province, of the higher case numbers in the two communities. The delay was made to balance public safety with the need to get businesses open and services restored for Albertans.

On Wednesday, Alberta Health said that 650 workers at JBS tested positive for COVID-19 and one worker died. Eleven cases remain active and 638 employees are recovered.

It’s believed that 1,090 people in the city of about 15,000 have tested positive for COVID-19. There are now 59 active cases and seven deaths in the city.

In a JBS statement made on Thursday, the company said that their top priority was the health and safety of their workers and that they were working with public health and labour officials to implement rigorous risk mitigation practices throughout the facility.