The Kane County (Illinois) Health Department (KCHD) issued a closure order to Smithfield Foods Inc, in St. Charles, Friday, April 24, due to concerns about COVID-19. April 25, Smithfield Foods voluntarily consented to the closure order. Since that time, Kane County Health Department executive director Barbara Jeffers and members of her senior staff, along with representatives from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, have met with Smithfield Foods officials to review mitigation efforts, as well as to provide recommendations relative to social distancing and other employee safety measures, including personal protective equipment (PPEs).
“We are saddened to learn of the death of a worker from the Smithfield plant in St. Charles,” said Jeffers. “The Kane County Health Department extends our condolences to the family. We are continuing our investigation at the facility to assure worker safety when the plant re-opens.”
The facility is not accepting any new raw food product for processing at the plant during the closure. Limited operations are underway at the plant, as of April 29, after implementing additional worker safety measures, to safely package and ship currently existing product, which had been in production at the time the closure order was issued. In order to fully re-open, the facility will develop a comprehensive plan to control infectious disease in accordance with CDC and IDPH guidance, which will be submitted to the Kane County Health Department. Smithfield has additionally agreed to pay to have every employee at the facility tested for COVID-19. The re-opening date of the facility remains undetermined.
For additional information and current updates on the COVID-19 situation, visit the KCHD website at KaneHealth.com or call the health department at 630-208-3801.
—Kane County Health Department