
Rantoul Foods Covid-19 cases hold at 83; more reported at Vista Outdoor
Coronavirus testing is once again optional for workers at one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants as the number of confirmed cases hit 83 this week.
Coronavirus testing is once again optional for workers at one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants as the number of confirmed cases hit 83 this week.
Rantoul Foods, one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants, will partially shut down Monday to undergo additional sanitization following a mass testing event at the plant Friday and Saturday that found 27 more cases of Covid-19 among employees, according to a company release. Though yet to be confirmed by health officials, this pushes the total number of employees who have become sick to 82.
Rantoul Foods, one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants, accelerated its mass testing Friday as the number of confirmed cases at the plant rose to 55.
The number of Covid-19 cases at one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants now stands at 52, health officials and plant management said Thursday.
Public health officials said they visited Rantoul Foods - which had 47 confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of May 5 - on April 27th after receiving reports of Covid-19 cases among company employees. “All of this was completely preventable,” Pryde said in an interview Tuesday, noting had the plant taken action earlier.
One of Central Illinois' largest hog processing plants, Rantoul Foods, has a confirmed 32 cases of Covid-19 since April 25, 2020. The company issued this statement.
Just days before President Trump ordered meat packing plants to remain open to mitigate food shortages, Rantoul Foods in Central Illinois saw its first case. There are now 21. One of the largest meat processing plants in central Illinois is battling an outbreak of coronavirus in which 21 cases of Covid-19 have been already been counted, a company official confirmed Monday
Rantoul Foods, which is based in Rantoul and processes between 30 million and 35 million pounds of pork each month, saw its first case on April 25, said Jerry Jacobsen, the company's director of human resources, safety and business administration. Since then 20 more cases have been reported.
Jacobsen said the company is taking safety measures to bring the outbreak under control.
“The first thing is the health of our employees," Jacobsen said, “because without our employees we don’t have a business.”
The first worker identified with Covid-19 has now recovered and returned to work, he said.
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