More than 20% of the workforce at a Tyson Foods plant in Iowa have tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting the company to close the plant temporarily.
The pork processing plant in Storm Lake has some 2,517 employees, 555 of whom recently tested positive, the state department of health has confirmed. Tyson said May 28 that it was ceasing slaughter operations at the plant and would wrap up other processing over the next two days, but added that processing was projected to resume “later next week.” Tyson has had to close plants at three other locations in Iowa, as well as in Nebraska, Indiana, Washington and other states, although those have reopened.
Testing at the Tyson plant occurred after Buena Vista County, where Storm Lake is located, showed 500 additional positive cases this week.
A local representative for Latino residents told the Des Moines Register, “I feel that there could’ve been more adequate steps taken within the pork plant to prevent such a large number of confirmed cases.”
