Chilean salmon farming, processor and harvesting firm Blumar will quarantine 250 workers after additional positive cases of covid-19 were discovered at its Salmones de Talcahuano processing facility, slashing the plant's output to a fraction of its normal levels.

The quarantine was mandated by Chilean health authorities after five cases of coronavirus were confirmed among employees at the plant: two in the maintenance area and two in the processing area, Blumar said in an announcement on the Santiago Stock Exchange.

All workers on duty during the shift have been placed on preventative quarantine.