According to a May 20th release by Tyson Foods, the company provided data on incidence rates among workers at the Wilkesboro, NC plant. Tyson Foods entered into an agreement with Matrix Medical Network in late April to deploy a fleet of mobile clinics and staff to undertake COVID-19 screening and education of workers on prevention at all processing and packing facilities. On-site testing from May 6th to May 9th encompassing 2,007 employees, plus an additional 237 tested by the Department of Health, disclosed a 25.4 percent COVID-19 positive rate based on demonstration of the virus using approved technology. It is also accepted that tests in use have a low predictive positive value and generate false negatives due to low sensitivity. Accordingly, the prevalence rate among employees of the plant is probably higher than the indicated 25.4 proportion. It is also of importance to note that the majority of cases detected using screening were asymptomatic. Based on the data from the first week of May, production was terminated on May 14th to allow for decontamination.
Contrary to the policies of some broiler integrators, Tyson Foods has been completely transparent with the results of testing. Kevin Taylor, Complex Manager for the Wilkesboro plant, noted “disclosing our testing results will help better protect our team members and help provide the wider Wilkesboro community with the information it needs to stop the spread of the virus.” He added, “Our team members are essential to helping to feed the nation and their health and safety is always our first priority.”
Tom Brower, Senior VP for Health and Safety for Tyson Foods, stated “We are working closely with local health departments to protect our team members and their families and to help manage the spread of the virus in our communities.” He added, “We are using the most modern resources to support our team members and we are committed to ensuring they feel safe and secure when they come to work.”
Tyson has been proactive, along with Perdue Farms, in implementing protective measures including screening workers for possible COVID symptoms at the beginning of each shift, providing face masks, maintaining social distancing and physical barriers between workstations and in common areas including lockers and break rooms.