Tyson Foods To Close Iowa Pork Plant After 555 Workers Test Positive For Coronavirus

Tyson Foods TSN is temporarily shutting down its Iowa pork factory due to the transmission of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) at the facility, Reuters reported Thursday.

What Happened

According to Iowa state officials, at least 555 workers at the Storm Lake plant have tested positive for COVID-19 so far, as reported by Reuters. The positive workers account for 22% of the total workforce at the facility.

The company plans on resuming production next week, after "additional deep cleaning and sanitizing of the entire facility."

President Donald Trump last month ordered meat-processing plants to stay open during the pandemic to ensure food supply across the United States.

Nevertheless, companies including Tyson, WH Group Ltd. WHGLY subsidiary Smithfield Foods, and JBS SA JBSAY, had to shutter 20 facilities across the country in April due to coronavirus outbreaks among workers.

Why It Matters

Meat companies have faced criticism for lack of worker safety measures during the pandemic.

According to data from the Food & Environment Reporting Network, at least 18,437 meatpacking workers in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Thursday, and 67 of them have died.

The family of a Tyson employee who died from complications arising out of COVID-19 has sued the company for wrongful death.

Tyson Price Action

Tyson shares closed 0.14% lower at $62.66 on Thursday and were mostly unchanged in the after-hours.