August 11, 2020

Brazil prosecutors suspend JBS plant for COVID-19 tests

Labour prosecutors called on Thursday for JBS SA to stop work at a southern Brazil plant and test employees there for COVID-19 following an outbreak at the plant, according to court documents, Reuters reported.

Prosecutors in the state of Rio Grande do Sul asked a judge to order "the immediate removal, with pay, of all employees and outsourced workers" at a chicken processing facility in the town of Garibaldi, according to a filing reviewed by Reuters.

The plant has 230 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including seven hospitalisations and one fatality, prosecutors told the court, citing data from local health services. More than 900 people work in the facility, according to prosecutors.

JBS did not comment on the Garibaldi case, saying it has not been notified. The company has repeatedly defended its safety protocols and response to COVID-19 outbreaks at plants in Brazil.

A string of COVID-19 outbreaks at JBS plants in at least five states has threatened exports and disrupted operations as facilities were temporarily shut in three states.