At least 116 Oklahoma meat plant workers positive for virus

GUYMON, Okla. (AP) — At least 116 employees at an Oklahoma pork processing plant have tested positive for coronavirus, Seaboard Foods spokesman David Eahart said in a statement Monday.

The plant in Guymon has about 2,700 employees who are advised to stay home if sick, provided face masks and hand-sanitizing stations, and encouraged to maintain social distancing, Eahart said.

Texas County, where Guymon is located about 235 miles (378 kilometers) northwest of Oklahoma City, has 236 confirmed virus cases and two deaths, according to the state Health Department.

Eahart said about 30% of the plant’s employees do not live in Texas County, Health Department spokeswoman Donelle Harder said all cases and deaths would be attributed to an infected person’s county or state of residence.

Guymon is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Texas and about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Kansas.

The Seaboard plant has not closed, as some around the nation have until beginning to reopen under an executive order from President Donald Trump.

The number of virus infections is thought to be far higher than confirmed because many people haven’t been tested and studies suggest people can have the disease without showing symptoms.

The vast majority of those infected recover.