Four Smithfield employees in Sioux Falls died from COVID-19, and 1,294 contracted the virus. ©2020 FOX News Network, LLC. Posted September 10, 2020 7:00 p.m. EDTThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that employees were working closely together and exposed to the coronavirus. (AP) — A Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in South Dakota will temporarily close for cleaning after more than 80 employees were confirmed to have the coronavirus… For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.There had been six COVID-19-related deaths in South Dakota as of Sunday. "It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running. It also found that leading up to the first known infections at the plant on March 23, Smithfield did not do enough to space them out or provide other safety measures like face coverings or physical barriers.The citation included the latest assessment of the virus' impact at the Sioux Falls plant, with four workers killed by COVID-19, at least 1,294 infected and 43 hospitalized. Real-time quotes provided by This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. As a critical infrastructure industry in our nation's food supply, the Governor is committed to working with them to get through this," Seidel wrote.Smithfield said there will be some activity at the plant on Tuesday to process product that's already in inventory. Smithfield reached a resolution with OSHA last week ensuring "private "[W]e were simply asking for the opportunity to review these documents to flag such issues and, if our concerns were validated, require that production include confidentiality safeguards," the Smithfield spokesperson said. A facility in Martin City, Missouri, that processes spiral and smoked hams will also close. "The Sioux Falls facility is one of the largest pork processing plants in the U.S., Smithfield said. Smithfield Foods is no longer fighting a subpoena for South Dakota Department of Health records related to a coronavirus outbreak investigation at Smithfield… Coronavirus; Smithfield Foods Is Blaming “Living Circumstances In Certain Cultures” For One Of America’s Largest COVID-19 Clusters. Federal regulators said Thursday they have cited Smithfield Foods for failing to protect employees from exposure to the coronavirus … Despite the inference in your letter, this was not a new designation by the current Administration. But he said workers still gather closely together in the plant.But with a rising demand for meat and a shortage of employees after the outbreak, Motley said, “They are pressing their workers a lot harder now.”Copyright 2020 by The Associated Press. She blamed coronavirus infections in Sioux Falls for causing the outbreak at the plantEmployees at the plant have said Smithfield did not do enoug h to prevent inspections in the plant, where workers labored elbow-to-elbow as they processed nearly 5% of the country's pork. It will resume operations in Sioux Falls after receiving further directions from local, state and federal officials. CHICAGO (Reuters) - Smithfield Foods Inc, the world’s largest pork processor, said on Wednesday it would shutter two U.S. plants that process bacon and ham, after closing a separate hog slaughterhouse because of an outbreak of the coronavirus among employees.The latest shutdowns show the domino effect that can occur when the closure of a major slaughterhouse removes raw materials that are turned into food for consumers.The Missouri plant, which employs more than 400 people, processes pork from the Smithfield slaughterhouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that the company closed indefinitely.