‘Major’ COVID-19 outbreak at Foster Farms in Fresno under investigation, top doctor says

Foster Farms has two active outbreaks at their Fresno poultry plants, according to officials at the Fresno County Health Department.

The company shut down their plant on Cherry Street in southeast Fresno over the weekend to deep clean because nearly 200 asymptomatic employees tested positive for the virus. The plant has since reopened.

Dr. Rais Vohra, interim health officer for the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said they are investigating the “major outbreak” during the Tuesday afternoon news briefing.

“I don’t have too many details because the investigation is still ongoing and we’re still trying to learn about exactly how this outbreak came to manifest, but we are talking with the leadership and with the medical team that’s at Foster Farms to make sure that people are getting the care and the attention they need,” Vohra said.

Ira Brill, vice president of communications for Foster Farms, confirmed another outbreak at their other plant on Belgravia Avenue in southwest Fresno on Tuesday afternoon. He said 12 employees tested positive for the virus over the past 14 days. Over 1,000 people are employed at the plant.

“By the state’s definition, this is an outbreak, but you would be hard pressed to find many other places in the Central Valley where the prevalence is this low,” Brill said.

An outbreak is defined as a workplace with three or more cases of COVID-19, regardless of facility size.

He attributed high positivity rates to proactive testing. The company had been testing all employees once a week, and is now testing twice a week.

Brill said county health officials would tour both facilities on Wednesday.

According to a company news release last week, the prevalence of COVID-19 at the Fresno Cherry Street facility remained under 1% through the end of October “but began ramping up in early November concurrent with the acceleration of cases throughout Fresno County.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 9:12 AM with the headline "‘Major’ COVID-19 outbreak at Foster Farms in Fresno under investigation, top doctor says."