SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Smithfield Foods will close its Sioux Falls facility until further notice, the company announced Sunday in a news release.

The closure comes after the South Dakota Department of Health said 238 of Minnehaha County's 438 COVID-19 cases involve "individuals who work at Smithfield Foods." The plant, one of the nation's largest pork processing plants, was identified as the state's largest hot spot accounting for about 38% of its cases. Those numbers were last updated Saturday.

Smithfield will fully shut down Wednesday. The plant will partially be operated through Tuesday to process inventory, according to the news release.

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Smithfield previously announced that it would close for three days for cleaning starting Saturday and continue through Monday.

On Saturday, Gov. Kristi Noem and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken sent a letter to Smithfield, asking operations to close for two weeks so the facility could be cleaned and employees could recover from any suspected illness. The call to action also requested that Smithfield continue to pay its 3,700 employees during the closure, though the state won't be providing any financial aid to the company, Noem said Saturday.

"The industry, like the country, needs to fight its way through this situation – and it will – and make adjustments as it changes," said Maggie Seidel, Noem's senior adviser and policy director, in an emailed statement Sunday. "As a critical infrastructure industry in our nation's food supply, the governor is committed to working with them to get through this."

TenHaken said the decision to call for closure at Smithfield Foods came after confirmed COVID-19 cases among plant workers spiked for a third consecutive day.

Protesters at TenHaken's announcement on Saturday demanded a 14-day shutdown. Employees spoke out last week about conditions at Smithfield, asking that the company implement more precautions and close for two weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the plant.

“I am thankful Smithfield is taking the right steps to protect the health of their employees and our community during this pandemic," TenHaken said in an emailed statement Sunday. "When Smithfield is ready to safely restore its operations, the city is ready to help them further protect the health of their employees and prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

While the plant is making the decision to close indefinitely, President and CEO Kenneth Sullivan said in the news release that the closure "is pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply."

The Sioux Falls, South Dakota, plant accounts for 4% to 5% of the nation's pork production, the company says.

"We have continued to run our facilities for one reason: to sustain our nation’s food supply during this pandemic," Sullivan said. "We believe it is our obligation to help feed the country, now more than ever. We have a stark choice as a nation: We are either going to produce food or not, even in the face of COVID-19."

The release said the plant will be shut down until "further direction is received from local, state and federal officials." Employees will be compensated for the next two weeks, but there was no mention of payment if the plant is closed for longer.