LIVINGSTON (CBS SF/AP) – A bird processing plant in the Central Valley was ordered to close after it became one of the largest and most serious COVID-19 outbreaks in the state, fitness officials said.
The order to close the Foster Farms Livingston facility comes after at least 358 workers tested positive and 8 workers died of coronavirus, according to a letter received from the Merced County Department of Health, Merced Sun-Star reported Thursday.
The order to close the Foster Farms Livingston facility came after at least 358 workers tested positive and 8 workers died from coronavirus, according to a letter received from the Merced County Department of Health, Merced Sun-Star reported Thursday.
The plant ordered a closure Wednesday, but Merced County spokesman Mike North said county officials issued a 48-hour pardon Thursday for the closing order that expires Saturday at 6 p.m. to “help facilitate logistics related to any mandatory closures.”
North said police continue to arrive after officials won a phone call from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Secretary of Food Security. He didn’t give any more details.
Foster Farms said in a statement that the plant was still running on Friday, that there would be “exhaustive testing” and that follow-up tests would be conducted “to ensure that the prevalence of COVID-19 remains minimal.” The corporation did not respond to the closing order.
The company said it had cooperated with fitness officials and had “a long history of successful collaboration with federal, state and local agencies.”
Foster Farms has provided weekly information to the Merced County Health Department since June 30 and has consistently submitted to answer all questions similar to this information. We responded temporarily to all department recommendations and guidelines,” he added.
The state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, said in a statement that the Farming poultry operation in the small town of Livingston had experienced “an alarming spread of COVID-19 among its workers.”
“No one can forget the facts: it’s time to press the reset button at the Livingston plant in Foster Farms,” Becerra said.
The California Department of Public Health also issued an aid to the county’s action, and Acting Public Health Officer Erica Pan said Foster Farms will have to perceive “that it has legal responsibility to comply with public fitness ordinances and guidelines, as well as a legal responsibility of its staff and citizens of Merced County and surrounding counties.
The outbreak at the Livingston facility accounts for 18% of COVID-19 deaths in County 65, 7% of total deaths in the county, and four out of 10 coronavirus deaths in Livingston, the Department of Health said.
For others, coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that go away in two to three weeks. For some, especially the elderly and others with existing physical disorders, this can lead to a more serious illness, which adds to pneumonia and death.
Foster Farms employs approximately 12,000 other people in turkey processing in Turlock and bird plants in Livingston, Fresno and Porterville, as well as in Oregon, Washington, Louisiana and Alabama. Approximately 3,750 other people’s paintings at the Livingston plant, one of the largest bird production plants in the world.
In its letter, the state fitness branch said the Livingston plant exploded out of specific fear because “other Foster Farms amenities in several counties are also experiencing epidemics.
The letter provided some main points about other plant shoots.
In the letter, Health Department officials said they had tried to curb the Livingston epidemic in vain.
The California Division of Occupational Health and Safety visited the Livingston facility with the County Department of Health on August 3 and found that the county’s initial recommendations had been adopted. According to the letter, the county reissued the check rules on August 5 and 11 that were met.
As a result, the state attorney general’s office, the California Department of Public Health, and the county fitness branch “worked with Foster Farms to restrict the effect of the closure and were unable to reach an agreement,” according to the statement.
“The closure of this plant is the only way for the outbreak to temporarily occur at Foster Farms. Our hearts are with the 8 families who have lost one they have enjoyed,” said Dr. Salvador Sandoval of the Merced County Office of Public Health.