Northwest Health Services Archives

UPDATE: 359 workers at Triumph Foods in northwest Missouri have tested positive for COVID-19

May 2, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(Reporter Brent Martin at Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ contributed to this story)

State health officials have announced that 359 employees and contract workers at a massive pork processing plant in northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph have now tested positive for the coronavirus.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced the latest statistics on Saturday, adding that results from the comprehensive testing continue to arrive on a rolling basis. Additional updates are expected this weekend.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) logo (image courtesy of DHSS)

A spokeswoman for DHSS, Lisa Cox, tells Missourinet the vast majority of the Triumph Foods employees were asymptomatic.

Governor Mike Parson appeared Friday on Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ Radio (AM 680), telling “Hotline” host Barry Birr that Triumph Foods became a test of sorts for Missouri’s new strategy of rapidly deploying COVID-19 test kits to a potential hot spot, in an effort to prevent a massive outbreak.

“And that’s the first big major test that we’ve done,” the governor tells KFEQ. “Most of the people that have tested positive are asymptomatic. So, the good news to that is we know who they are, they’re not sick, so we can take action with that.”

State officials sent test kits to St. Joseph and contracted with Northwest Health Services to test all 2,800 Triumph employees, whether they displayed symptoms or not.

The Triumph Foods plant in St. Joseph processes one-and-a-half billion pounds of pork annually. The governor says it’s a key part of the national food chain.

DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams does not support shutting the plant down. He told Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on Thursday that the department is doing what they do in public health, including epidemiology contact tracing, isolating and quarantining.

The DHSS has partnered with St. Joseph health officials, Northwest Health Services and Mosaic Life Care to offer coronavirus testing to all employees and contract staff at Triumph.

Any employees who are still wanting to be tested can do so next week through Northwest Health Services’ mobile testing site.

Missouri meat-packing plant confirms 16 COVID-19 cases; mass testing of employees

April 24, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

Triumph Foods confirms 16 employees at its pork processing plant in northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph have tested positive for COVID-19. Workers who tested positive are in self-quarantine, according to Triumph.

Photo courtesy of KFEQ in St. Joseph

The company also confirms the state of Missouri has provided 2,800 tests for employees at the St. Joseph plant to be tested for the coronavirus. Triumph says those tests will be in addition to the tests already conducted by Mosaic Life Care in conjunction with the Buchanan County and St. Joseph Health Departments.

In a news release, Triumph says the additional tests will be administered onsite by Northwest Health Services “in a coordinated, phased approach over multiple days.” Triumph says it is working with the State of Missouri to finalize both the testing plan and the timing of the tests.

The news release was the first communication with the news media since Triumph disclosed Monday that it had two workers test positive for the coronavirus.

Triumph adds it has implemented the latest measures recommended by state and federal health authorities. The company says it has enhanced cleaning and sanitizing at the plant since the coronavirus outbreak. Workers wear face covers. Plexiglass dividers have been installed to create social distancing during breaks.

Triumph employs more than 2,800 workers in St. Joseph, processing more than 1.5 billion pounds of pork annually.

By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph

Missouri meat-packing plant employees to be tested for COVID-19

April 24, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

Photo courtesy of KFEQ in St. Joseph

All employees at Triumph Foods in northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph will be tested for the coronavirus after several workers at the meat packing plant tested positive for COVID-19. The city of St. Joseph reports multiple positive cases of COVID-19 at Triumph, though the city does not state how many employees tested positive in the past 48 hours. An internal memo sent to employees Wednesday disclosed the plant recorded nine total cases.

The city says Northwest Health Services plans to conduct tests as early as this afternoon, depending on when test kits arrive. Northwest expected to receive results within 48 hours.

Mosaic Life Care will test approximately 125 Triumph employees Friday. It expects results within 24 hours.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reports it has sent approximately 2,800 tests to St. Joseph which will be processed at the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory and a commercial laboratory.

By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate of KFEQ in St. Joseph