Update On Meat Packing Plants

Meat plants in Virginia could face new safety standards; the proposed changes include: mandatory temperature tests, company provided PPEs, and increased plant sanitation. Employers would be fined more than $13 thousand dollars for violating the rules.

More outbreaks plague meat plants. Two Utah facilities will temporarily shutdown to allow employees to quarantine.

The family of a Tyson Foods employee in Texas, who died from COVID-19, is suing the company. This is the third lawsuit filed in the state.

A second worker at Nebraska’s Lincoln Premium Poultry Plant died from coronavirus complications.

Fifteen large poultry processors receive approval to increase their line speed by 25 percent. The waiver, which was approved by the Food Safety and Inspection Service, allow the plants to run at 175 birds per minute. The current maximum is 140 birds per minute, set to help limit the spread of COVID-19. The National Employment Law Project argues the decision violates CDC guidelines and all 15 plants have a history of OSHA violations or were a site of a COVID outbreak.

For all updates on the Coronavirus and how it impacts Rural America, visit our Coronavirus outbreak hub.