Coronavirus infections force Ford to suspend production at recently reopened plants

The recently re-opened Ford assembly plant in Chicago had to stop production on Wednesday, the second day in a row operations ground to a halt because of the coronavirus, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Chicago plant produces Ford Explorers and Lincoln Aviators. On Tuesday, the factory was closed when two people tested positive for COVID-19 at a parts-assembly facility one mile away from the plant, a Ford spokeswoman said; both passed an initial temperature check when they arrived at work, and it's unclear how they tested positive later in their shift.

On Wednesday morning, workers were sent home after a Lear Corp. factory that makes seats for Ford had to stop production. The Journal obtained text messages Lear sent to employees that said a person on the first shift tested positive for COVID-19.

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The Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, was also closed on Wednesday after a worker tested positive for COVID-19, the company spokeswoman said. That factory makes F-150 pickup trucks, Ford's most popular vehicle. Ford's spokeswoman told the Journal that "due to incubation time, we know these employees did not contract COVID-19 while at work. Our protocols are in place to help stop the spread of the virus."

Ford started reopening its U.S. factories on Monday after being closed for nearly two months. Before entering the plants, workers must have their temperatures checked, and they wear bracelets that beep if they aren't properly social distancing, the Journal reports. Plastic barriers have also been put up between work stations. Production is slow for now, as there are fewer employees working and the machinery is still being tested.