Coronavirus News: 2 Tyson Foods Workers Die From COVID-19

Two workers at a Tyson Foods (TSN) meatpacking plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, have reportedly died from the coronavirus.

The plant is the largest pork processing facility in the U.S., with 148 confirmed cases of COVID-19, The Hill reported. The plant was closed on April 6 as a result of the pandemic.

“We’re deeply saddened by the loss of two team members at our Columbus Junction plant,” Tyson Foods told the news outlet. “Their families are in our thoughts and prayers.

“We continue working diligently to protect our team members at facilities across the country by taking worker temperatures, requiring protective face coverings and conducting additional cleaning and sanitizing. We’re implementing social distancing measures, such as installing workstation dividers, spreading out work stations where possible, and providing more breakroom space.”

Tyson is one of several meat producers that have seen their employees become infected with COVID-19. A Smithfield Foods’ plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, had as many as 518 workers that tested positive from the coronavirus with another 126 people infected from contact from these employees. One death was reported, The Hill said.

Smithfield Foods is the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., behind the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam, with 585 cases. The Smithfield Foods plant was closed indefinitely.

Last week, three Tyson Foods workers from a plant in Camille, Georgia, also died from the coronavirus, Business Insider reported. Meatpackers Cargill and JBS have also reportedly closed some facilities as hundreds of workers tested positive for the virus.

Shares of Tyson Foods stock were up 1.66% as of 11:02 a.m. EDT on Friday.