Tyson Foods Will Partner With Health Clinic Near Wilkesboro Plant

Tyson Foods will partner with a health clinic scheduled to open near its chicken-processing plant in Wilkesboro.

The clinic will be open to Tyson employees and their family members covered by the company's insurance plan. It will offer primary and preventive care, including health screenings and education.

The health clinic will be operated by Vermont-based Marathon Health, which will collaborate with Wilkesboro-area health care providers.

Meat-processing plants have been especially vulnerable to coronavirus exposure, with workers standing shoulder-to-shoulder on assembly lines.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Tyson confirmed 570 positive COVID-19 cases among full-time and contract employees in mid-May. Commuting workers led to an early outbreak of at least 70 cases in Forsyth County.

The outbreak at the Wilkesboro plant is thought to have been one of the largest industrial incidents in the state.

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