Springfield, Jun 28 (AP) Tyson Foods has announced that 371 employees at its chicken processing plant in the far southwestern corner of Missouri have tested positive for COVID-19.

The company said in a news release Friday that it tested 1,142 employees at the plant in Noel from June 17 to June 19, and 291 tested positive for COVID-19. Of those 291, Tyson said 249, or 85%, were asymptomatic.

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Tyson said an additional 80 Noel employees tested positive for COVID-19 in separate tests that were performed by their health care providers or the state's Department of Health and Senior Services.

The announcement confirms suspicions that the large spike in McDonald County's reported COVID-19 numbers starting this past weekend was the result of large-scale testing at the plant, the Springfield News-Leader reports. (AP)

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)