California health officials are ordering a Foster Farms poultry plant closed after eight workers died of COVID-19 and at least 358 employees tested positive for the virus. The order came as the local public health department works to curtail what it calls “the most severe and long-lasting outbreak in Merced County” at the Foster Farms facility in Livingston.
The true count of infections among the plant’s 3,750 employees is unknown, as the official count is largely based on workers who chose to get tested and reported the results, the Merced County Department of Public Health said on Thursday.
The facility now accounts for 18% of COVID-19 deaths of those 64 and younger in the county. The county public health department’s account of what led to its closure order is a somber retelling of deaths that seemingly didn’t have to happen.
In late June, a month before any workers had died but as cases tied to the Foster Farms outbreak continued to rise, Merced County health officials visited the plant and offered recommendations for controlling its spread, the MCDPH said in a statement.
Foster Farms did not fully heed guidance to conduct widespread testing of its workers and change their break space, according to the health department.
Throughout July, public health officials urged widespread testing to control the outbreak. Foster Farms initially tested less than 100, or about 10%, of those who worked in the department with the most cases, and 25% of those tests came back positive. It took the company an additional three weeks to broaden its testing, and “subsequently, three fatalities were linked to that department alone.”
After another site visit to the plant in early August, the county issued two directives to Foster Farms spelling out the steps it needed to take to control of the spread of the virus. In the more than three weeks since, COVID’s spread within the plant has not been contained and active outbreaks continue, “posing a significant threat to Foster Farms employees and the surrounding community,” according to the county health department’s statement.
Before issuing its closure order, county and state officials said they tried to work with Foster Farms but were unable to reach an agreement.
“In view of increasing deaths and uncontrolled COVID-19 cases, the decision was made to order the Livingston Plant within the Foster Farms Livingston Complex closed until acceptable safety measures are in place,” Dr. Salvador Sandoval, Merced County’s Public Health Officer, said in the statement. “The closure of this plant is the only way to get the outbreak at Foster Farms swiftly under control.”
In a two-page statement on Friday, Foster Farms defended its safety measures and said comprehensive testing at the Livingston complex would be completed as of that day.
The company did not respond to a specific question as to whether it planned to comply with the county’s closure order.
Regardless of the Merced County’s public statement, Foster Farms employees received emails late Thursday telling them to report to their regular shifts Thursday night or Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“The plant and all other facilities on the Livingston complex are safely operating,” said the email reviewed by the newspaper. “Please continue to wear your face covering and follow other safe practices at work and outside of work.”
Foster Farms reportedly employs about 12,000 people in turkey and chicken processing at plants in five states. In addition to California, the multibillion dollar company also has operations in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon and Washington.
As of Tuesday, there have been at least 37,500 reported positive cases tied to meatpacking facilities in 416 plants across 40 states, according to the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. Some 170 workers have died, according to the Center.
