Judge orders JBS plant suspension over Coronavirus
As part of the decision to close for 14 days, employees in high-risk groups are reported to have been removed from the premises.
The judge also requested JBS test the workers using procedures established by the Brazilian Health Ministry.
JBS refused to comment on any on-going legal cases and reiterated its priority is to protect the health of its workers following guidelines issued by health authorities and specialists.
According to the lawsuit by prosecutors calling for the plant to be shut down, which was seen by Reuters last week (June 5), 21 of the plant’s 1,700 employees had contracted the novel coronavirus and two were hospitalized.
In the state of Rio Grande do Sul alone, there were 3,201 cases among all meat plant workers, prosecutors said.
