Foster Farms is reporting additional Coronavirus outbreaks at its facilities in California’s Central Valley. According to the Los Angeles Times, the poultry company reported that at least 193 people at its Cherry Avenue plant in Fresno tested positive for the coronavirus over a recent two-week period, along with 12 people at another Fresno plant. A union official said at least 37 workers at the company’s Livingston complex in Merced County have tested positive since Nov. 30.
Union officials have asked the company for more details about the outbreaks. Elizabeth Strater of the United Farm Workers union told the Times that the company sent a brief email citing 37 cases but provided no detailed log.
“This is the sequel to a real-life horror story with no happy endings,” Strater said. “Workers at Foster Farms have reported no information being shared.”
Foster Farms spokesman Ira Brill said Tuesday that, given the regionwide surge, at least some of his workers probably were infected in the community — or perhaps while carpooling to work — rather than in the factories. He said the company is cooperating with Fresno County health officials to determine whether the virus is spreading within the plant and additional health and safety measures need to be taken.
Source: Los Angeles Times