326 Sherman Tyson Foods employees test positive for COVID-19
Tyson Foods confirmed Thursday more than 300 employees at their plant in Sherman have tested positive for COVID-19.
A Tyson spokesman said 326 employees at their Sherman plant tested positive for COVID-19, accounting for more than 20% of the 1,604 employees tested. Approximately 1,745 employees work at the Sherman plant, according to the
.
Grayson County Judge Bill Magers said nearly 1,600 employees were
by the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the National Guard.
Tyson confirmed 211 of the positives were tested onsite by the state, and the other 115 were tested through their own healthcare providers.
Magers says 138 of the employees who tested positive are Grayson County residents. He said 96 of those employees have been cleared to return to work.
"I know that a number of folks travel from southern Oklahoma to Tyson. We have other folks from surrounding counties who work there, but the majority of employees are Grayson County residents," said Magers.
Tyson says team members who tested positive received paid leave and may return to work when they meet criteria from the CDC and Tyson.
“We’re committed to making sure our team members are safe, healthy and protected, and we value the collaboration provided by the Texas Division of Emergency Management to complement our existing prevention efforts,” said Tom Brower, Senior Vice President of Health and Safety for Tyson Foods. “Our team members deserve to feel safe and secure when they come to work, and we are supporting them with the most up-to-date information and resources to take care of their health.”
Tyson says employees at the Sherman plant have access to daily clinical screenings and nurse practitioners. All employees are screened before every shift and must wear masks.
Tyson confirmed last week that
who contracted COVID-19 and lived in Grayson County had died. But overall, Magers says he believes Tyson has done a good job of implementing safety measures.
"I think we've done a pretty good job keeping the employees safe, keeping our local businesses running, and keeping the food chain moving in the country," Magers said.
Tyson is the second largest employer in Grayson County with approximately 1,745 employees at its Sherman plant.
“We are proud of our team members and we continue to take protective measures to ensure that their health and safety is our first priority,” said Bill McKeeman, General Manager at the Sherman facility. “Disclosing our testing results is an important step in protecting our team members and helping provide the wider Sherman community with the information it needs to control the spread of the virus.”
