From staff reports

Two employees of a Tyson Foods plant in southeastern Iowa have died, presumably of the effects of COVID-19.

Company spokesperson Liz Croston confirmed the deaths. The names of the workers, who were employed at Tyson's Louisa County plant in Columbus Junction, were not released.

"We’re deeply saddened by the loss of two team members at our Columbus Junction plant," Croston wrote in an email. "Their families are in our thoughts and prayers."

The plant, where 186 workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, has been closed since April 6. Gov. Kim Reynolds, in a Wednesday morning press conference, said the state was sending 900 testing kits for COVID-19 to Louisa County, in addition to 200 sent last week.

► More:The latest on the coronavirus outbreak in Iowa

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The plant is among a growing number of meatpacking plants experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19. Concerns are rising about another Tyson plant in Waterloo, and Chris Schwartz, chair of the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors, said he was contacted by the governor’s office Wednesday and told that 1,500 kits of swabs and an undetermined number of rapid tests would be coming to the city.

Croston said Tyson is taking precautions to protect its employees.

"We continue working diligently to protect our team members at facilities across the country by taking worker temperatures, requiring protective face coverings and conducting additional cleaning and sanitizing," she wrote in her email. "We’re implementing social distancing measures, such as installing workstation dividers, spreading out work stations where possible and providing more breakroom space."

► More:Worries grow about health of employees in Iowa's meatpacking plants, impact on food supply