Noem: Nearly 1,500 showed up for Smithfield COVID-19 testing

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says that nearly 1,500 people linked to a coronavirus outbreak at a Smithfield pork processing plant have been tested for the disease this week.

The state helped set up a mass testing event in Sioux Falls where employees of the plant and their family members could get tested.

The Republican governor says that according to the Avera Health team that conducted the testing, about 10% of the people who showed up had symptoms of COVID-19.

So far, more than 1,000 Smithfield employees and their close contacts have contracted the disease. That number is likely to rise as test results come back.