Meat factory outbreaks around the world in May are slightly different in nature to the ones in August.

The qualitative difference is infection control is a lot tighter now - and yet outbreaks are happening, and they will keep happening.

We can all do something to help, though.

A statement issued by Brady's Ham in Timahoe expressed shock and that they were taking every precaution.

That's actually what you're seeing in Germany, US, Australia and others too - meat factories with tight infection control practices, still getting hit with Covid19 outbreaks.

Masks and goggles are not a magic shield, they just lower risk somewhat.

Meat factories tend to have 3 conditions that make them plum environments for outbreaks and those conditions are largely fixed and unchangeable.

If they could change them, they would - but they can't.

The first is the aggressive ventilation needed to prevent the meat from getting contaminated with the likes of Clostridium perfringens or E-Coli.

The air speed in a crowded church is about 1cm per second, but in a meat factory it's over 100cm per second.

Ideal for Covid19.

The second condition is the temperature of the facilities.

Normal room temperature is around 20 °C but in meat plants they're usually legally required to stay at 12 °C.

Again ideal for Covid19 - which remains viable for longer outside the body, at these colder temperatures.

The third is the nature of the work itself.

It is physically very demanding, which by definition elevates the heart rate and causes people to breathe harder, exhale more air.

Reducing the work rate by slowing conveyor belts, won't actually change the nature of the work.

Those conditions are vital to producing safe meat and are legal requirements in most countries.

You can't just shut the ventilation systems down or raise the room temperature - both would help against Covid19 - because they're prerequisites to produce safe, consumable meat.

Everywhere you look from US to Germany, it's a lot of migrant workers who work these facilities.

That often involves DP in Ireland, but even when it doesn't, it typically involves crowded houses, sharing a car to work etc.

Their risk levels remain higher even outside of work.

There is no easy solution to this, because if there was we wouldn't see so many outbreaks all over the globe.

Masks, goggles, temperature scanning, staggering work shifts, slowing production line are all measures employed in meat factories - and they still suffer outbreaks.

One thing you could do is pay people more money to work in meat plants, as they are unquestionably on the front line, performing public service to keep society fed.

More money won't alter their Covid19 risk but it would slightly improve their quality of life.

We're in a situation where the meat in these facilities is treated like gold, with all these measures to protect it from contamination.

But human beings are the most important flesh in these facilities, start treating them like they are.

We'll continue to see meat factory outbreaks around the world, right up until a vaccine.

There is no way around it* because Covid19 has the upper hand in those environments, despite masks & googles.

Conditions necessary to keep meat safe, are the ones that Covid19 thrives in.

*There is one way around it.

It's actually the same way around preventing nursing home outbreaks.

When wider society reduces community transmission down to tiny levels, the risks posed to meat factories, nursing homes and other indoor facilities drops dramatically.

As always, the power society wields is enormous.

If we redouble focus on hand washing, social distancing and eliminate eejitry like house parties, a by-product of that is making migrant workers a lot safer - both in work and at home.

You can directly help them by #handwashing