by: WHNT News 19
Posted:
/ Updated:
ALBERTVILLE, Ala. – A chicken plant in Albertville is reporting several cases of COVID-19.
Plant spokesman Frank Singleton told WHNT News 19 Tuesday that 75 Wayne Farms Albertville employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and one has died.
Singleton said the employee that died passed away Saturday, April 18, 2020 after self-reporting flu-like symptoms.
He said that employee’s last day at work was April 9, 2020.
Frank Singleton said 250 additional employees may have been exposed and are currently quarantined as a precaution.
Singleton said production has been slowed to about 75% so employees can be distanced.
He added that they will be given face masks and personal protective equipment and their temperatures will be checked before their shift begins. However, the plant will not be shutting down.
Singleton said if an employee demonstrate COVID-19 symptoms, they will not be allowed back at work for two weeks.
“We are part of the nation’s critical infrastructure manufacturing industry and it’s important that there’s food supply, food on shelves in grocery stores, food available to citizens especially with everybody at home now, taking care of family, and kids not in school,” said Singleton.
Singleton told WHNT News 19 that it is unclear where the infected employees were exposed because they all were not on the same shift.
“Our demand is down a little over 40% right now because consumer demand in restaurant. About half of our chicken or a little more and probably in the whole market place I would day is about the same percentage is destined for food service, quick service restaurant , fast casual, dining room restaurants and institutions like schools, hotel chains, those kinds of things, so obviously that kind of demand is way off. In home demand is up some, but not enough to supplant the loss of demand on the consumer side,” explained Singleton.
Singleton told WHNT News 19 that employees concerned about being exposed to COVID-19 can take a discretionary leave of absence.
