Kraft Foods plant in Springfield closes for 'deep cleaning' after two employees test positive for COVID-19

The Kraft Foods plant in Springfield closed doors Saturday morning with a "deep cleaning" of the site underway amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Two employees in the Springfield warehouse have tested positive for COVID-19, a spokesperson tells KY3. These two employees were last at the warehouse on March 19, and both are currently in quarantine.

The site expects to reopen Monday after two days of "deep cleaning," according to the spokesperson.

The following statement on the closure was released to KY3:

“We have learned that two employees who work in our Springfield, Mo., warehouse have confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19). These two people, who were last in our warehouse on Thursday, March 19 – are currently being treated and are in quarantine. Our Human Resources team has been contacting employees who had been in close proximity to these people to discuss next steps. While we have implemented additional cleaning and sanitation procedures within the entire warehouse and manufacturing plant as of last Friday, March 20, out of an abundance of caution, we closed Saturday morning to deep clean both facilities. We expect this deep cleaning to take 2 full days and we plan to reopen the site on Monday. We encourage any employee who feels unwell to take every precaution and seek medical assistance. We’ll continue to monitor this rapidly evolving situation and will update all employees as appropriate – including once this deep cleaning is complete and the Springfield facility is reopened. As always, the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees is our No. 1 priority.”