The health department said Saturday that the order was sent out Friday, and it closes the facility so health officials can work with the company in mitigation efforts as well as providing COVID-19-related education.
Smithfield Foods previously said it was indefinitely suspending operations on a "rolling basis" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Smithfield Foods announced Sunday that the dry sausage facility would suspend operations, beginning with no raw materials being received from Sunday to May 2, two of three departments closing Wednesday to May 3 and one remaining department closing from May 7 to May 19. The decision was made "out of an abundance of caution."
There are 325 team members at the plant, who will be paid during the closure, according to Smithfield officials.
It's unclear if anyone has already tested positive for the virus at the company's St. Charles location.
Other Smithfield food plants in the Midwest have closed because of COVID-19, including one in Cudahy, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee. Smithfield said a small number of employees at the Wisconsin plant have tested positive for the virus.
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Its Monmouth plant in western Illinois also suspended operations indefinitely, starting Friday. A small portion of its 1,700 employees tested positive for COVID-19, the company said.
The Monmouth plant represents approximately 3% of U.S. fresh pork supplies and also produces bacon, according to Smithfield.
The company said it has been proactively tackling COVID-19 by implementing processes, protocols and protective measures throughout its operations. At the same time, it stressed that the inherent nature of meat processing, which is labor-intensive assembly-line-style production, makes social distancing particularly challenging.
The company will continue to arm its team members with personal protective equipment like masks, which are stocked and in use at every single one of its facilities around the country. Smithfield has implemented thermal scanning companywide and installed plexiglass and other physical barriers on production floors and in break rooms. The company has been explicitly instructing employees not to report to work if they are sick and that they will be paid, officials said.
RELATED: Here's the latest on Wisconsin's COVID-19 cases, deaths
Smithfield employs 40,000 people nationwide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Kane County Health Department closes St. Charles' Smithfield Foods due to COVID-19 concerns - WLS-TV
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