BURRILLVILLE – A producer of cured meats headquartered in Burrillville has around 80 employees with confirmed cases of COVID 19, according to a report on Friday, April 24 from the Rhode Island Department of Health.
Daniele Inc., a company with a three plants and 600 employees, including one in an industrial park off of Broncos Highway, has an outbreak of the virus.
Department of Health spokesman Joseph Wendelken said the Burrillville-based business is one of two in the state with “larger groupings” of cases.
Wendelken said the Daniele Inc’s owners have been “very proactive,” in curbing the spread of COVID 19.
“Masking of employees, screening for symptoms of all employees, and daily reporting to RIDOH have all been happening,” Wendelken said.
The business, which first moved to Pascoag in 1977, was purchased by Chicago-based private equity firm Entrepreneurial Equity Partners last year from the Dukcevich family.
In a statement, Daniele CEO David Finch said that around 90 percent of the employees were already quarantined or self-quarantining when they tested positive.
“This pandemic has unfortunately hit close to home for Daniele Foods, with about 80 employees across our three Rhode Island facilities testing positive for COVID-19 this month,” Finch said. “We are pleased that all of the affected employees appear to be recovering well, and that our aggressive actions to address the virus has flattened the curve of cases among our workforce.”
Daniele sells fine Italian meats such as prosciutto and salami to retailers including Trader Joe’s and Costco.
Currently, there are 38 confirmed cases of COVID 19 among Burrillville residents according to data from RIDOH. The department announced Thursday that 10-14 has been found at a Burrillville-based nursing home.
