Concerns Remain Regarding Coronavirus Exposure At U.S. Meat Plants

Meat plant illnesses from the coronavirus are still rising, despite extensive efforts by the major packers to protect workers. According to an analysis by the Washington Post, the number of workers with COVID-19 at Tyson, Smithfield and JBS, increased dramatically from just over 3,000 a month ago to more than 11,000 at last count. During that same time period, deaths surged from 17 to 63.

The paper reports some firms responding to the president’s earlier order to reopen and spending millions on worker safety, say there’s just so much they can do to keep workers separated.

Ethan Lane at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said part of the goal is for more specific testing.

“You need to have the workers, you need to have healthy workers. That speaks to the need for testing, antibody testing. Let’s make sure that those workers that have already come through this process, like any other part of the economy, can get back to work.”

But he noted, with more workers still getting sick, others don’t want to come back, causing even more losses for producers with animals they can’t market.

The National Pork Producers Council estimates backlogs of 170,000 hogs a day, bringing to more than 10-million, the number that will have to be destroyed.

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