UPDATE: 86 Patrick Cudahy employees test positive for coronavirus

By: CBS 58 Newsroom

Posted: May 1, 2020 8:03 PM CDT | Updated: May 6, 2020 8:25 AM CDT

See Also Patrick Cudahy plant closing for 2 weeks after number of employees test positive for virus

Updated: 8:23 a.m. on May 6, 2020

CUDAHY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Cudahy Health Department says 86 employees of the Patrick Cudahy plant have now tested positive for COVID-19.

Testing took place from April 24-28.

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Posted: 8:03 p.m. on May 1, 2020

CUDAHY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Cudahy Health Department says 85 employees of the Patrick Cudahy plant have tested positive for COVID-19.

Testing was provided for 503 Smithfield employees between April 24-28, according to a news release.

The efforts led to 22 new positive COVID-19 diagnoses, and 31 test results are pending. Among the approximately 1,000 employees who work at the location, a total of 85 have tested positive.

Smithfield announced a temporary closure of the Cudahy facility on April 15.

"Testing like this is prioritized from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and really what we're trying to do is stop further spread of outbreaks of COVID-19," said health officer Katie Lepak. "Having testing of employees regardless of symptoms will help us quantify and reduce further spread of COVID-19 in both the staff and within the community. Testing also allows us to reach out to individuals who are positive to make sure they know how to protect themselves and their families, and know when to seek medical care. We appreciate Smithfield and the union for taking these steps to protect the health of their employees. Their cooperation with the public health investigation and initiative to install safety measures and temporarily close the plant helped to contain the spread of this virus, and likely prevented this from turning into a larger outbreak."