Half of workers positive for COVID-19 at Tyson plant near Tri-Cities had no symptoms

Almost one in five workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant south of Pasco tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to testing information released Friday.

More than half of those who tested positive had no symptoms at the time of testing, according to Tyson Foods, Walla Walla County health officials and Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla.

They jointly released updated results of of COVID-19 testing for the 1,482 workers at the plant.

Workers include Tyson employees and others, such as U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors based at the plant.

The majority of the workers at the beef slaughter and processing plant at Wallula commute to work from the Tri-Cities area, including three plant workers who died of complications of COVID-19.

Test results showed 277 workers were positive, both in testing done at the plant mostly on April 24-25 and also in other tests workers sought from their own health care providers since the start of the pandemic.

Some workers may have had symptoms starting in late March.

Tri-Cities Tyson workers

The total workers known to be infected with the new coronavirus include 151 people who tested positive in testing done at the plant by the St. Mary hospital staff and 126 cases from tests by other medical providers.

The total is close to 19% of the 1,482 workers at the plant.

It does not include friends, family members or others who may have been infected due to the outbreak at the plant.

The Benton Franklin Health District has verified that 251 of the Tyson workers who tested positive live in those two counties.

The other 26 who tested positive are residents of Walla Walla County, Umatilla County, Ore., or possibly other counties.

“Disclosing our testing results will help better protect our team members and help provide the wider Pasco community with the information it needs to stop the spread of the virus,” said Brad Anderson, manager of the plant south of Pasco.

Tyson workers who test positive receive paid leave and may return to work only when they meet criteria set by both the Centers for Disease Control and Tyson to ensure they are healthy and no longer contagious.

“As we learn more about this virus, we continue to do everything we can to protect our team members and ensure they feel safe and secure when they come to work,” said Tom Brower, senior vice president of health and safety for Tyson Foods.

Reduced plant operation

Only enough workers had returned to work at the Wallula plant as of Friday to operate the plant at a little over half of normal production.

Some workers had COVID-19, others were in isolation because of potential infection with the new coronavirus, and some may have stayed home out of fear of infection, according to Tyson officials. Others may have had childcare issues as schools are closed.

More than half of the workers who had positive results from testing at the plant were considered to be recovered as of Friday, according to the joint news release.

The plant can produce enough beef in one day to feed 4 million people.

Cattle from Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Canada are shipped to the plant, which produces fresh, vacuum-packaged boxes of beef to be shipped around the United States and for export.

Boxes are shipped to grocery stores, restaurants or other processing plants to be cut up into steaks, roasts and other beef products.

Wallula plant protections

The plant was closed for about 12 days starting April 24 when testing of plant workers began. It reopened after it received results from worker testing at the plant and deep cleaning and sanitization had been done.

Tyson Foods and the Walla Walla County health district say protective measures for workers that Tyson began to put in place earlier have been increased.

They include providing face masks for all workers and requiring they be worn, said Gary Mickelson, spokesman for Tyson Foods.

The company struggled earlier to find enough masks for employees, at one point chartering a plane from Asia to deliver a supply of face coverings for its U.S. plants.

It is spending $10 million a month on face coverings, Mickelson said.

Other steps have included temperature checks and screening of workers for other possible symptoms at the start of shifts, putting up plexiglass or other barriers between work areas and in break areas, adding a tent to allow more space for workers during breaks, and providing COVID-19 information in 12 languages spoken at the plant.

A Matrix Medical mobile health clinic has been brought to the plant to provide workers access to nurse practitioners and health information.

The plant, which has been criticized for not offering sick pay, has increased short-term disability coverage to 90 percent of normal pay until June 30 to encourage workers who are sick to stay home.

Tyson Foods also plans to disclose verified test results at its other plants across the United States as they become available, it said Friday.

This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 3:02 PM.