The Maine Center for Disease Control is confirming 11 cases of COVID-19 at Tyson Foods poultry processing center in Portland.
CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah says his agency has been working with the company since they were notified of an outbreak.
“Tyson Foods is planning on following Maine CDC’s recommendation to conduct universal testing across all the employees at the facility. They’re also planning to idle the facility for a period of time to conduct deep cleaning.”
The company said in a statement it will suspend operations from Saturday through Monday for deep cleaning and sanitation in the production area and common areas. The testing will be conducted by an outside medical contractor.
“Our Portland, Maine, plant will not operate from Saturday through Monday so we can perform deep cleaning and sanitation in the production area and of common areas,” said spokesman Worth Sparkman in a statement. “Maine CDC has approved our plan and an outside medical contractor will conduct COVID-19 testing for all team members in the coming days.”
