Foster Farms allowed to reopen Livingston facility, following COVID-19 outbreak

After being closed for about a week, Foster Farms is allowed to reopen its Livingston processing facility, the Merced County Department of Health announced Monday evening.

The plant came under scrutiny from local and state public health officials — plus community and union leaders — after at least 358 employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus. At least eight workers have died.

The order allows the plant to reopen as of 9:30 p.m. Monday.

“The department is pleased to see that our intervention led to significant improvements for the testing positivity rate among employees at the Foster Farms facilities,” said Dr. Salvador Sandoval, Merced County Public Health officer, in a news release.

“We appreciate Foster Farms’ cooperation and response with addressing the outbreak in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 among their employees.”

Before reopening, Foster Farms was ordered to meet the following requirements:

1. All plant workers had to receive two negative COVID-19 tests, no more than seven days apart.

2. Changes to ensure adequate social distancing were required to be made for break spaces and areas of potential congregation.

3. All facilities had to undergo an extensive third-party deep cleaning.

4. Safety training and communication was provided to employees in English, Spanish, and Punjabi.

Public health officials noted they will continue to closely monitor the situation at the facility and perform site visits to ensure mitigation efforts remain a priority.

Previously, the Merced County Department of Public Health had estimated the outbreak at the Livingston facility accounted for 18% of COVID-19 deaths in the county under age 65, 7% of total county deaths, and four out of 10 coronavirus deaths in Livingston.

The company attributed a rise in positive cases at the Livingston complex to a rise in overall Merced County cases after the state lifted COVID-19 restrictions. The company said they implemented CDC guidelines throughout the pandemic but could not protect workers exposed in the greater community.

This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Foster Farms allowed to reopen Livingston facility, following COVID-19 outbreak."