Coronavirus: 100 workers at Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Washington state test positive for virus

WALLA WALLA COUNTY, Wash. — One hundred workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Wallula, Washington state, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Walla Walla County Department of Community Health, which has mandated the company add new preventative measures and required all 1,400 plant workers be tested for the virus.

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KEPR-TV reported Wednesday that a Tyson Fresh Meats worker died after battling the coronavirus and his family believes he got sick while working at the plant.

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The Walla Walla County Department of Community Health said the outbreak is part of a surge in cases locally, and most of the sick Tyson workers live in the neighboring Tri-Cities.

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Health officials say testing at the Walla Walla County meatpacking facility will take place within the next week and may temporarily force the plant to close depending on the speed of testing. Workers will be required to stay home until their test results come back.

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Parent company Tyson Foods said Wednesday it planned to indefinitely close its massive Waterloo, Iowa, plant because of the coronavirus and temporarily close its Indiana plant so more than 2,000 workers there could be tested. This has deepened concerns about a national meat shortage with COVID-19 clusters reported at more than a dozen meatpacking plants in the U.S.