Smithfield Foods has partially reopened its Sioux Falls, South Dakota facility.
The building had been closed since mid-April, following hundreds of employees testing positive for coronavirus. The plant accounts for roughly 5 percent of the country’s pork supply.
Only 250 employees will return initially and they will return to process ground seasoned pork. The company has asked workers who are ill or those more prone to infection to stay home.
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said they are working to improve the deficit in meat production to 20-30 percent offline to 10-15 offline in the coming weeks.