Eight Employees at Abbyland Foods Test Positive for COVID-19
Friday, June 12th, 2020 -- 10:17 AM
-As of yesterday, a total of 8 employees from Abbyland Foods, 3 from Marathon County and 5 from Clark County, have tested positive for COVID-19.The first case was diagnosed on May 22nd. A total of 5 employees have since recovered. Therefore, there are 3 active positive cases. Abbyland Foods, which employs approximately 950 individuals, has 3 facilities located in both Marathon and Clark County. “We, along with the Marathon County Health Department, are working closely with Abbyland leadership and their employees to further reduce the spread of COVID-19 within our communities,” stated Brittany Mews, Health Officer for the Clark County Health Department. “It is important that people follow isolation and quarantine orders to reduce the spread of illness to others,” stated Joan Theurer, Health Officer for Marathon County. “This is the time for individuals who tested positive or those that are a confirmed contact of a person who tested positive, to be at home.” “Abbyland Foods continues to employ preventative measures to help circumvent employees’ exposure to COVID-19. The health and wellbeing of our employees is very important to Abbyland. We continue to strive to keep our employees and our community members protected to the best of our abilities,” said Todd Jelinski, Safety Director for Abbyland Foods.
“This continues to have not only an employee health and household impact, but an economic impact on the business and the community as a whole. We need to continue working together to overcome these challenges,” added Jelinski. The Centers for Disease Control has provided guidance to meat and poultry facilities, which can be found on the CDC’s website. The Clark and Marathon County Health Departments encourages residents to limit travel to their home community, stay home when sick, and avoid gatherings where physical distancing cannot be attained. Local health departments do not release the names of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 to protect their privacy. Close contacts have been notified, and persons with symptoms have been isolated. If you believe that you may be a close contact with a confirmed positive case, reach out to your local health department.
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