Meat processing giant Tyson Foods has made an announcement which says that it is indefinitely closing its beef plant in Washington state. The announcement was made on April 23, 2020 and added that the plant has been closed as its workers are undergoing coronavirus. Tyson Foods in a statement has warned that the closure would mean reduced food supplies. Tyson has mentioned that the facility in Pasco. Washington produces beef that is enough to feed about four million people. The Food and Environment Reporting network said that about 12 meatpacking plants and three of the processed food plants have been shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The company has also said that the health officials will be helping to test about 1,500 of its team members very soon and the best part is that the employees will continue to be compensated while they are under quarantine in their respective homes. Apart from Tyson, the coronavirus pandemic has affected a number of other agri based businesses and include Cargill, JBS, Conagra, Hormel and Kraft Heinz. At the meat packaging plants, the employees usually have to be in close proximity and have very limited protective gear.
Reports say that about 2,460 workers who work at food processing factories have tested positive for coronavirus and about 17 of them have died. Now that the factories have been shut down, the farmers do not have any place to keep their live stock which has resulted in backed up supply chains and soon the situation may lead to a shortage of meat.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected businesses across the globe as many governments of different nations have imposed lockdowns. The lockdowns have forced to suspend operations across various nations. The virus originated in Wuhan city in China , where the lockdowns have been lifted and things are slowly getting back to normal as the economy continues to struggle.
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