NEW INFO: Over 100 Employees Have Now Tested Positive for COVID-19 at Farbest Foods in Huntingburg

BY: DAVID SHEPHERD, NEWS DIRECTOR

HUNTINGBURG -- State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box announced Monday 91 employees tested positive but the company is releasing higher numbers.

In a statement released Monday, company officials said, "Of those 588 tested, 101 of those were confirmed asymptomatic positives from various counties, while 464 of those tests results were negative and 23 tests are still pending verification."

All employees at the plant were tested for COVID-19 on Friday after confirming 42 workers at the plant tested positive for the virus.

Dr. Box says some workers live in counties surrounding Dubois County. She says state and local health departments will be tracking whether the virus spreads beyond Farbest workers.

In a statement last week, company president Ted Seger said, "Testing all employees at the Huntingburg plant is out of an overabundance of caution, as local and state health authorities do not believe there is spread of COVID-19 occurring within the plant at this time." 

The statement went on to say, "It was a unanimous decision from all parties involved in order to protect Farbest employees and the people in our community from further exposure. The goal of testing every individual is to identify the asymptomatic positive employees and have them self-quarantine at home for ten days." 

Remember, Dubois County can only count the number of positive county residents.  With some Farbest employees living in other counties, those numbers won't necessarily be reflected in the county's total.