Tyson to close Wallula plant for employee testing

PASCO, Wash.-- The Tyson beef packing plant in Wallula will close down temporarily while employees undergo testing for COVID-19.

More than 100 workers at the meat packing plant in Wallula have tested positive for coronavirus, and now the company plans to stop production at the facility temporarily, while the Walla Walla County Department of Community Health and Benton-Franklin Health District work work to test its more than 14-hundred employees for COVID-19.

While the plant is closed for testing, workers will continue to be paid, and the company is asking employees to self-isolate at home until results return.

Company officials say there's no set date for resuming operations at the plant… that'll depend on the outcome of the testing, and implementation of a plan to prevent further spread of COVID-19 at the facility. Local health officials visited the beef facility last week to observe the safety measures the plant has implemented so far, including social distancing measures such as workstation dividers and more breakroom space. 

In a statement posted on the Tyson Foods website Thursday, officials said the facility produces enough beef in one day to feed four million people.

On Wednesday, the company announced that it was closing down its pork processing operations in Waterloo, Iowa to test employees there for the virus.