ABILENE, TX – As AbiMar Foods grapples with 47 positive cases of coronavirus among their employees, the City of Abilene released a timeline of events.
According to KTXS, the following timeline details how the cases at the plants developed.
- March 30 – the first employee tests positive at AbiMar
- April 10 – there are 5 confirmed cases and nearly 100 employees are quarantined with pay
- April 13 – the company voluntarily closes both Abilene plants
- April 16 – nine more employees test positive
Last week the Abilene Diagnostic Clinic began testing over 500 employees of AbiMar. As of this time, 47 employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
In a press conference on Monday, the city stated AbiMar put safety mechanisms in place before the outbreak began. They screened employees and closed down the third shift. Leading the city to believe all the cookies and crackers made by the plant are safe to consume.
"There's just no evidence that our food supply was contaminated," said City Health Services Director Annette Lerma.
Both plants are undergoing a “deep cleaning and sanitation process and hope to reopen in phases depending on test results.” While the company’s shipping site on Vine Street remains open.
"There are no cases from there. There are very few people that work there so social distancing is easy," said Hanna.
When asked if the city should have taken earlier action to close the plant, City Manager Robert Hanna responded the following: "I'm not aware of us advising them to close or shutdown. We were communicating with them consistently."
As of this time the city is unable to mandate all AbiMar employees who tested positive to self-quarantine.
"I don't have enough police officers to force people to be responsible," said Hanna.
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