Des Moines, Iowa – Two employees have died after a coronavirus outbreak sickened scores of Tyson Foods workers at a large pork plant in southeastern Iowa, the company said last week.

The deaths of the workers at Tyson plant in Columbus Junction were the first known to be linked to an outbreak at a meatpacking plant in Iowa.  The company said that it was “deeply saddened by the loss of two team members” and that their families were in its thoughts and prayers.

The plant has been idled since April 6, when Tyson announced that over two dozen workers were infected. Louisa County, a rural area of 11,000 residents, has 148 cases of coronaviruses linked to Tyson workers.

Gov. Kim Reynolds said testing of the plant’s 1,400 workers was continuing after a rapid-testing machine was sent to the county.

The goal is to understand the scope of the outbreak as Tyson works to reopen the plant as early as this week, Reynolds said. She said she was working with federal officials and business leaders to prevent additional outbreaks at Iowa food processing plants.

The Iowa Premium beef plant in Tama has also suspended production this week after several of its 850 workers tested positive.

Reynolds said she was calling the leaders of 18 major food plants to assess how the pandemic is affecting their workplaces and how the state can help. She also had a call with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and was inquiring with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control “to see if they can provide some assistance.”

Reynolds said she wanted to help the plants identify infected employees “before it starts to become significant and really problematic for the facility to keep up and running.” She noted that the plants represent a critical part of the nation’s food supply.

Iowa State University economists predicted that the pandemic will have a “massive” impact on Iowa’s agriculture industry, causing billions of dollars in losses. Hardest hit could be ethanol and hog farming as fuel demand drops, packing plants close and restaurants lose business.

Infections at food manufacturing plants have contributed to the racial and ethnic disparities among Iowa residents testing positive for COVID-19, said Department of Public Health deputy director Sarah Reisetter. The plants employ a large number of Latinos and immigrants.