Stearns County Commissioners Get COVID-19 Update

ST. CLOUD -- Stearns County is working with CentraCare to get COVID-19 tests out to workers at the two meat processing facilities in the county.

Stearns County Public Health Director Renee Frauendienst says they were out testing as many as 600 employees at the Jennie-O plant in Melrose over the weekend and have reached out to Pilgrim's Pride in Cold Spring to ramp up testing.

Frauendienst says approximately 200 workers at Pilgrim's Pride have tested positive for the virus so far.

Of the 728 positive cases in the county Monday, 19% (39) are requiring hospitalization and of those, 42% (13) are in the ICU.

Nine of the total cases in Stearns County are in a congregate-care facility and county public health is working with the facility to limit the spread of the virus.

Frauendienst says the two deaths were people living in long term care facilities and were in their 70's. It's unknown if they had any underlying medical conditions.