Almost 400 asymptomatic employees have tested positive for coronavirus at Triumph Foods, a meatpacking plant, in Missouri.
Over 2,200 workers at the plant were tested by the local health department after 92 employees were diagnosed with Covid-19.
373 employees of Triumph Foods have received positive results even though many of them didn’t develop symptoms, according to local health officials.
Dr. Randal Williams, director of DHSS, said: “We continue to work this weekend contacting these asymptomatic patients and have initiated the process of contact tracing with those determined to be close contacts of our positive cases.”
Mark Campbell, the CEO of Triumph Foods, said: “Being swabbed wasn’t much fun, yet the test results will be critical to helping us understand where the coronavirus is in our facility and our communities.”
Data show 17 percent of employees tested were positive for the deadly bug.
While other meat processing plants have been forced to slow output, two dozen meat processing plants across the US have been forced to close due to the pandemic.
6,500 workers have fallen ill and at least 20 staff died as cramped working conditions with workers usually standing close to each other on production lines have caused the bug to spread fast.
According to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 20 food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the US have passed away from Covid-19, and around 6,500 have contracted the infection.
Grocery stores may face massive shortages of meat supplies as the pandemic caused supply disruptions.
Costco also said it would temporarily limit poultry, fresh beef and pork purchases to a total of three items per member after Kroger Co implemented purchase limits on fresh pork and ground beef.
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