Storm Lake, Iowa — (RI) — State officials have confirmed an outbreak of COVID-19 among workers at a meat packing plant in Storm Lake.
Iowa Department of Public Health deputy director Sarah Reisetter made the announcement late Thursday morning at the governor’s news conference.
(as said) “Today, we have confirmed an outbreak at the Tyson pork processing plant in Storm Lake where 555 of the 2517 employees tested have had a positive result so far,” Reisetter says.
The announcement comes 24 hours after state officials said they were not yet able to link a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases in the Storm Lake area to either of the city’s meat plants. Reisetter says state law does not require businesses to report outbreaks to her agency, but information may be publicly released if necessary to protect the health of citizens.
(as said) “We’ve determined confirming outbreaks at businesses is only necessary when the employment setting constitutes a high-risk environment for the potential of COVID-19 transmission,” Reisetter says.
She says the state doesn’t have immediate access to testing information when 10 percent of a workforce at a facility like a packing plant tests positive for the virus.
(as said) “The Department of Public Health and local public health agencies have provided more information to employers and the public through this COVID-19 pandemic than we’ve ever provided before,” Reisetter says, “because it is a sensitive balance between protecting patient identity and protecting the health of the public.”
Reisetter says while there’s great interest in having her agency announce when there are outbreaks, she says the most important thing for Iowans to know is how to take care of their own health during the pandemic — by wearing a face mask when social distancing isn’t possible, covering coughs and washing hands.
In response, Tyson Foods has decided to temporarily halt operations at its pork processing plant in Storm Lake.
The company indicated the closure is due, in part, to a delay in COVID-19 testing results and team member absences related to quarantine and other factors. Tyson will idle harvesting animals and finish processing over the next two days. Additional deep cleaning and sanitizing of the entire facility will be conducted before resuming operations later next week.
