Tyson beef plant near Tri-Cities to remain closed longer

The Tyson Foods beef plant near Tri-Cities will remain closed for a while longer while county health officials await test results on its 1,400 workers.

Walla Walla County health officials reported Wednesday afternoon the new coronavirus results are still pending.

“Once the test results are received, positive cases will be handled by the county in which the employee resides,” said the agency.

As of Wednesday, 130 people — both employees and others linked to the plant outbreak — have tested positive.

They include 120 residents of Benton or Franklin counties, nine in Walla Walla County and one in Umatilla County, Ore.

One Tyson worker, a 60-year-old butcher who lived in the Tri-Cities, has died.

The plant closed on Friday for testing of all the workers at the plant by Walla Walla county health officials.

County health officials say they will be working with an epidemiologist from the state Department of Health to perform contact tracing for COVID-19 positive employees.

“The results of contact tracing will determine if additional testing is necessary,” said a news release.

Officials said Tyson Foods has been cooperative throughout this process.

“The decision to close the plant and test all employees was made after discussions between (county health officials) and Tyson leadership,” they said.

“Once an accurate assessment of potentially impacted employees is made, Tyson leadership will be able to determine their next steps,” said the release.

Tyson is paying for the cost of the testing and has said it will pay its workers while they wait for rest results.

Meat processing plants

The plant in Wallula slaughters and processes enough beef in one day to feed 4 million people, according to Tyson Foods.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday evening ordering meat packing plants to continue operating during the pandemic to supply food to the nation, but it was not immediately clear what it would mean for the Wallula plant shutdown for testing.

Among concerns is that Tyson have enough healthy workers to resume operations of the Tri-Cities area plant after testing is concluded and results are available.

The presidential order requires that the secretary of agriculture take all appropriate action to ensure that meat processors continue operations consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control.

The order also could make meat and poultry plants eligible to receive some protective gear from the federal government.

Earlier this week, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sent a letter to the company accusing Tyson of not doing enough to protect workers and to keep the illness from spreading.

The first worker at the plant tested positive on April 1, but it took several days before state health officials had the information and relayed it to Walla Walla County officials.

Problems have included not enough protective equipment for workers, as well as a lack of information for workers, she said. Employees at the plant speak more than 11 different languages.

This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 3:10 PM.