Scallop and whitefish harvesting and processing group Blue Harvest Fisheries has been forced to close down operations after three workers at its New Bedford, Massachusetts processing plant tested positive for COVID-19.
The New Bedford Board of Health issued a cease-and-desist order on Thursday night, requiring the company to clean and disinfect the facility, and provide sworn documentation it had done so, according to the South Coast Today.
The order noted that three workers in the past 14 days tested positive for COVID-19.
The closure will remain in place until 72 hours after cleaning takes place, South Coast Today reported.
Blue Harvest Fisheries joins a range of other manufacturing facilities around the world to suffer cases of COVID-19 among workers.
In the seafood sector, several companies have reported cases including Chilean salmon farmers Blumar and Camanchaca, Norwegian group Leroy Seafood, Polish processor Milarex, Seattle-based Trident Seafoods, and earlier this week, High Liner Foods, which closed its facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for cleaning after under 10 employees reported ill.
