500+ COVID-19 cases linked to Green Bay area meatpacking plants

GREEN BAY -- More than 500 workers and their close contacts at meatpacking plants in and around Green Bay have tested positive for the coronavirus, based on the latest figures released Tuesday by the Brown County Health Department.

The Green Bay area has been a hot spot for COVID-19 cases due to spread among workers at the meatpacking plants and their close contacts.

There were 255 employees of JBS Packerland who tested positive, and another 79 positive cases among people connected to the workers. That plant closed on Sunday. There were 145 workers who tested positive at American Foods Group, with another seven positive cases among people linked to the employees. And there were another 23 cases among workers at Salm Partners, a sausage maker in Denmark, about 20 miles away.

Salm Brothers employs about 450 people, JBS employs about 1,200 and about 1,500 work at American Foods.

Brown County registered its third death from the virus on Tuesday and had more than 900 confirmed cases countywide. Statewide, the total number of positive cases neared 6,300 and 300 people have died. More than half of the deaths, 174, have been in Milwaukee County.