Tyson Foods said last Thursday it will temporarily close a Storm Lake pork plant due to the coronavirus pandemic. Iowa officials reported 555 employees at the Storm Lake plant tested positive for the virus, about 22% of the workforce.

Nationwide, meat processors like Tyson Foods, WH Group’s Smithfield Foods and JBS USA temporarily closed about 20 slaughterhouses last month as workers fell ill with the new coronavirus, leading to shortages of certain products in grocery stores. 

Production remains lower than normal because of increased ab­­senteeism and social distancing among employees.

The Storm Lake plant slaughters about...