The spokesman for a Rhea County, Tennessee, farm where numerous migrant workers were confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 said Thursday there is absolutely no threat to the community.
Jon Schwalls, spokesman for Henderson Farms, said the migrant workers at the facility have been living on the farm since they arrived from Mexico on March 28 and none have left the property.
“At that time we already as a company were taking precautions to keep people safe. Since their arrival, they have never been in the community. They haven’t been outside the property,” Schwalls said. “The testing was done on site by the Rhea County Health Department.”
Those positive test results among workers at the farm drove the number of positive cases in Rhea County from a dozen to almost 200.
The workers were tested as a group on May 18 and results were returned May 19 and 20, Schwalls said. The workers, all men mostly under 50, showed no symptoms before or after being tested, he said.