6 more workers at Smithfield plant in Arnold test positive for coronavirus

Another six employees have tested positive for covid-19 at an Arnold meat processing plant, a union spokesman confirmed to the Tribune-Review on Wednesday.

That brings the total cases at the Smithfield Foods facility to 12, said Wendell Young IV, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776.

Six employees had tested positive as of around mid-April.

The union represents 107 workers at the plant, which produces sausage.

Young said cases increased from six to 11 by the third week of April. The 12th case was reported in the past week. There is a 13th person who works with the 12th and is awaiting test results, he said.

Calling the situation “troubling,” Young said the union is continuing to call on Smithfield to close the Arnold plant, which remains open, because of the high rate of cases among its small workforce.

The company release a statement addressing the issue: “At the core of the company’s covid-19 response is an ongoing focus on employee health and safety and continued adherence with — at a minimum — the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and OSHA (federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration) guidance. Across all its facilities, the company is providing its team members with PPE (personal protective equipment), including masks and at least temporary face shields.

Workers in the Arnold plant do not work as closely together as those in a slaughterhouse, Young said. According to him, those in Arnold are separated by more than six feet at most times, are wearing masks and have access to hand-washing stations and drums of sanitizer everywhere.

The company has staggered break and lunch times so workers aren’t together in small areas, he said.

“Despite all that, this is a great example that no matter how much you think you know about covid-19, it will still come up and bite you,” Young said.

None of the infected Arnold employees have been put on ventilators or hospitalized, Young said.

“They have to stay home until they are cleared to go back to work,” he said. “We hope everybody gets through it without a more serious health problem occurring.”

Smithfield had closed a processing plant in South Dakota for more than two weeks after an outbreak that infected more than 800 employees. It began to reopen Monday.

The company has detailed its response to the virus on its website.

According to a CDC report released Friday, more than 4,900 workers at meat and poultry processing facilities have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, including 20 who have died.

CDC researchers said plant workers may be at risk for a number of reasons, including difficulties with physical distancing and hygiene and crowded living and transportation conditions.

While experts say there is no shortage of meat, the closings of meat processing plants around the country have disrupted the food supply chain. That has included some Wendy’s restaurants selling out of beef products, including hamburgers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.