Grand Island – Ten workers at a central Nebraska beef plant have tested positive for the new coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases continues to rise, public health officials said last Friday.

The cases were confirmed at the JBS beef plant in Grand Island, according to the Central District Health Department. The plant will not be shut down, however, because the federal government considers food and agricultural production and processing facilities to be essential infrastructure.

Hall County, which includes Grand Island, has had the state’s second-highest number of confirmed positive cases, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The most confirmed cases are in Douglas County, encompassing Omaha.

“Our numbers are ever-increasing,” said Teresa Anderson, director of the Central District Health Department. “This is not good, but it is not unexpected.”

– Associated Press