General Motors has confirmed that one employee at its Lansing-Delta Township plant in Michigan tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
Speaking to local NBC affiliate WILX 10, a GM spokesperson said the person contracted COVID-19 while outside of work. The automaker later carried out contact tracing on the employee and concluded that no other employees at the Lansing facility will have to self-quarantine.
The Lansing Delta Township plant, which includes both a vehicle assembly line and parts stamping plant, currently employs 2,711 people. GM produces the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave crossovers at the facility.
Michigan gave GM, Fiat Chrysler and Ford the green light to re-open their assembly plants in the state in early May. GM has implemented a number of new safety protocols at its plants to protect workers, which include taking employees’ temperatures when they arrive at work, requiring PPE and enforcing social distancing where possible.
While GM believes its safety protocols are enough to keep workers safe, it has faced calls to shut its U.S. assembly plants back down. The UAW previously asked the automaker to shut down its Arlington Assembly plant in Texas after a cluster of cases were found at the plant, but GM denied the request. The union has also said that it is “watching very carefully,” how COVID-19 is impacting different Big Three plants around the country and said the health and safety of all members is its “priority.”
Additionally, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer said last week that if Michigan residents don’t start to take more precautions to curb the spread of COVID-19, including wearing face masks, she will be forced to shut down the assembly plants – potentially affecting many residents’ jobs.
“If Michiganders don’t mask up when we go out in public, cases could rise and we could be forced to close down more of our businesses, including auto manufacturing plants that employ thousands,” she said.
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Comments
Threatening to take away a persons job over a scamdemic is always a wise way to go. Support oppression! Ignorance is strenffgth! Mask up, while your rights disappear. But, you’ll be safe! Smgdfh!
What he said!
Get a clue, DICK!
That’s nothing. You should see the number of cases at Nissan in Tennessee