DULUTH – The USG building products plant in Cloquet has temporarily closed for deep cleaning as three employees have now tested positive for COVID-19.
Cloquet plant closes after COVID-19 spreads to three employees
USG will deep clean the facility before reopening.
May 7, 2020 at 9:25PM
The Chicago-based company learned two employees tested positive on Wednesday and suspended operations, spokeswoman Kaitlyn Henderson said. The first case was discovered in April, when the company took steps to prevent an outbreak.
"We have advised anyone who is sick to stay home, implemented enhanced sanitation in all our facilities, staggered break times to minimize crowding, and are actively promoting social distancing," Henderson said. "USG has been regularly cleaning common areas with increased frequency and is also completing an additional disinfecting of all common areas where the employee may have been."
The plant, which makes drywall, employees 320 people, according to the company, and is one of the largest employers in Cloquet following the Sappi paper mill and Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
USG was sold to Germany's Knauf Group for about $7 billion last year.
Carlton County, home to about 36,000 residents, had 61 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, 31 of them at the Moose Lake prison, according to state figures.
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