A chicken processing plant in central California that has seen a death coronavirus An outbreak must provide its workers with masks and follow a number of other anti-COVID-19 health orders, a court ruled on Wednesday.
A Merced County judge has granted a temporary restraining order sought by the United Farm Workers of America union against Foster Farms, where a virus outbreak at its Livingston headquarters – one of the largest chicken plants in the world – killed nine people and made hundreds sick earlier this year. The plant was temporarily ordered to close.
Another outbreak two weeks ago at another processing plant in Fresno forced the plant to close for a deep cleaning, although it later reopened.
The San Joaquin Valley, a highly agricultural California, has seen its COVID-19 infection rate explode. Hospitals left the normal beds of the day intensive care unit, forcing them to use other makeshift areas to treat patients.
The food chain has been hit hard
Across the country, meat packaging plants have been among the most affected sites for COVID-19. Workers, many of them immigrants, often work in nearby areas and live in packaged homes. More than 44,000 workers nationwide tested positive for the virus and more than 200 died, according to the Food & Environment Reporting Network, a nonprofit investigation organization.
The restraining order, which runs until a court hearing on January 29, requires the Livingston plant to provide face masks to workers and ensure that they wear face masks or face shields where social distance is not possible.
Other sanitation and sanitation measures are needed, including temperature and health checks for visitors and workers before they can enter the plant and the installation of physical separators in break rooms and on production lines where workers find it difficult to stay away. social.
The plant must also inform all employees in English, Spanish and Punjabi of safety testing, outbreaks and training requirements.
In a statement, Foster Farms said he had worked with health officials in Merced County and that some of the measures in the ordinance were already in place, including requirements for testing and wearing a mask. The company also installs special filters in common areas at its processing plants.
The company conducted more than 25,000 virus tests at the Livingston facility in September. Its positivity rate among workers is well below the rate for Merced County as a whole, the company said.
Foster Farms has approximately 12,000 turkey processing employees in Turlock and chicken factories in Livingston, Fresno and Porterville, as well as outside California, Oregon, Washington, Louisiana and Alabama. About 3,750 people work at the Livingston facility.