Worker at Toyota in Georgetown has COVID. Here’s what the plant is doing.
The Toyota plant in Georgetown, one of the state’s largest employers, confirmed it learned earlier this week of a case of coronavirus in a worker there.
It’s the first case at the plant, which employs almost 10,000, since it was shut down for almost two months due to the outbreak. Kentucky’s economy has been slowing revving back up after Gov. Andy Beshear closed most of the state except for essential workers in March.
The plant brought workers back the week of May 11 after being shut down since March 19. The plant will continue to operate, according to Rick Hesterberg, Toyota spokesman.
The employee who tested positive for COVID-19 works for an onsite vendor and has not been at the plant since May 14, Hesterberg said.
“The affected employee will remain in self isolation, and will not return to work until cleared by a physician,” Hesterberg said. “The health and safety of our team members, business partners and community are a top priority. We are working with state and local health officials on this issue and will continue to follow their guidance on all proper protocols.”
Toyota announced in April that the automaker would restart production; the restart was pushed back from May 4 to May 11 to accommodate supply restrictions.
Like many automakers, Toyota put in place measures designed specifically to prevent transmission of the highly contagious virus between workers, including having all employees wear masks and gloves, social distancing and daily temperature screenings.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 12:13 PM.
