COVID-19 infects 26 employees at Astoria seafood plant

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — Twelve more workers at Bornstein Seafoods in Astoria have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the outbreak to 26.

The Clatsop County Public Health Department began testing workers at the seafood processor on May 2 after the company informed the county that one employee had tested positive. The county finished testing all 200 workers earlier this week, The Astorian reported.

Of the positive tests, 17 live in Oregon’s Clatsop County while the rest live in Washington’s Pacific, Grays Harbor and Cowlitz counties.

Bornstein Seafoods has shut down two plants at the Port of Astoria in response to the outbreak and advised employees to stay home.

Michael McNickle, the county’s public health director, said the prevalence of the virus among workers at the facility was lower than he expected after the initial positive tests.

Over 3,030 people in Oregon have tested positive for the coronavirus and at least 124 people have died of the illness.

The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, and the vast majority recover. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and death in some patients, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.