New York, May 1: In a shocking case, nearly 900 workers at an Indiana Tyson Foods pork processing plant have tested positive for coronavirus. According to a Wish TV report, the meat processing facility in Logansport has been voluntarily closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.  The Logansport plant employs 2,200 people and almost 40 percent of the workers have been tested COVID-19 positive.

Cass County Commissioner Ryan Browning was working with Tyson and the health department to develop a workable reopening plan. However, it went off gear after US President Donald Trump ordered to reopen meat processing plants shuttered by the virus.  The meat processing facility in Logansport is one of several Tyson plants across the country that have voluntarily closed due to virus outbreaks. Donald Trump Signs Order to Keep Meat Processing Plants in US Open Amid Coronavirus Pandemic.

Serenity Alter, the health department administrator of Cass County, where the Tyson plant quoted in the report said, "We were in good shape for a couple of weeks and then just within the couple weeks it kind of blew up." She further expects the number of cases to jump in the next few days.

Earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order meant to stave off a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on American supermarket shelves because of the coronavirus. The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as a critical infrastructure to keep production plants open.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2020 09:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).