June 5, 2020

 

Tyson resumes operations in Storm Lake pork facility; releases COVID-19 test results

 

Tyson Foods resumed limited operations at its pork facility in Storm Lake, Iowa, USA, on June 3, even as it disclosed 591 of its 2,303 employees in the plant tested positive for COVID-19.

 

The Storm Lake plant temporarily closed on May 30 during which additional deep cleaning and sanitizing was conducted.

 

The facility is among more than 40 production facilities in the United States where Tyson is rolling out advanced testing capabilities and enhanced care options onsite to employees in partnership with Matrix Medical, a leading medical clinical services company, and other partners.

 

"We are thankful for the efforts of Tyson Foods' management and team members to ensure the safety of employees as they continue in the best manner possible to process food for our country," said Keri Navratil, city manager for Storm Lake.

 

Tyson said in a news release on Tuesday, June 2, that it will disclose test results at other plants where it is conducting facility-wide testing to employees.

 

Tyson disclosed also on Tuesday that at its case-ready beef and pork facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa, 224 of its 1,483 employees tested positive for coronavirus disease.

 

Top priority

 

"Our top priority is the health and safety of our team members, and we continue to take strong action to ensure they feel protected in their community and when they come to work", said Tom Brower, senior vice president of health and safety for Tyson Foods.

 

Tyson said it has put in place a host of protective steps that meet or exceed CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) guidance for preventing COVID-19. These include symptom screenings for all employees before every shift, providing mandatory protective face masks to all employees, as well as a range of social distancing measures, including physical barriers between workstations and in breakrooms.

 

"Our team members are essential to helping feed the nation, and their health and safety come first", said Rick Retzlaff, complex manager for Tyson in Storm Lake.

 

"Disclosing our testing results will help better protect our team members and help provide the wider Storm Lake community with the information it needs to stop the spread of the virus."

 

Tyson Foods has increased short-term disability coverage to 90% of normal pay until June 30 to encourage team members to stay home when they are sick. The company has also doubled its "thank you" bonus for its frontline workers. Team members who cannot come to work because of illness or childcare issues related to COVID-19 will continue to qualify, the company stated in its news release.