LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) — A clarification on the previous story we reported.
Wabash National in Lafayette closed the cafeteria at its North Plant but before being notified that an employee of its cafeteria contractor tested positive for COVID-19.
Spokesman Dana Stelsel said AVI notified Wabash National that medical professionals believe its employee's exposure occurred outside of Wabash National. Stelsel said that the cafeteria worker had not returned to Wabash National since the expected exposure date because the plant was on a scheduled shutdown.
The cafeteria was not re-opened when employees returned on March 29. Stelsel said, "any suggestion the cafeteria was closed because of the AVI case is completely false."
The company closed the cafeteria to mitigate the risk of community spread. Stelsel also referred us to Wabash National's website for questions about why the company remains open during the state-wide stay-at-home order.
The website says, in part, that the company qualifies as an "essential business" under several critical categories, including transportation and logistics, healthcare and public health, and food and agriculture.
