Dupage Policy Journal

A West Chicago factory has reopened after a third employee tested positive for COVID-19, according to a press release by the company.

The company, Jel Sert, closed down its factory for a short time to sanitize and clean all production and other areas that are communal, according to the release. The factory said it has taken and continues to take all the proper steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, as well as the DuPage County Health Department.

The factory reopened at the end of March, according to Patch.

"We are saddened that this pandemic has affected so many, including those who are part of our Jel Sert family," the release states. "We have been working around the clock to take all precautions necessary to keep our team of workers safe and will continue to provide updates and keep everyone informed."

The company announced it would temporarily close the production side of the factory for four days after two employees tested positive for COVID-19, the Daily Herald reported.

After the report of the first two employees, Casa DuPage Workers Center spoke out against the factory's response, stating that the factory needed to ramp up its procedures to protect employees. The organization wanted the company to give all of the factory workers a two-week quarantine period off with pay.

"The company is urging people if you don't want to come to work take a vacation day. Take a sick day. But we don't see that it's fair," Cristobal Cavazos, the group's founder, told the news agency. "We see that there's a crisis at the factory right now."

The factory released a statement to the news agency, stating that it was adhering to strict safety standards and daily sanitation. In the statement, it said that it would be working "around the clock" to provide additional protocols that may be needed in the future. 

The county's health department told the news agency that it would help the factory to make sure workers were safe.