Supply chain fears as virus hits meat plant

As many as 300 people have been “impacted” by the coronavirus at a Colorado meat plant, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said, adding that 14 people have been hospitalized.

It’s unclear whether that figure of 300 refers to positive cases, or just people who have been quarantined. If it does indicate the number of cases, it would be the largest outbreak yet at a major U.S. food facility.

“There are some 14 people hospitalized. Maybe 200 to 300 of the workforce have been impacted,” Pence said at a news briefing Friday.

JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat company, on Wednesday confirmed that a team member who worked at its Weld County facility in Greeley, Colo., died from complications associated with COVID-19. Denver’s ABC 7 news channel on Friday reported a second employee death in Greeley related to the virus, citing a union official.

“We currently have 36 JBS employees who have tested positive in Weld County and we are offering support to our team members and their families,” Andre Nogueira, chief executive at JBS USA, said in a statement Friday.

JBS also confirmed “increased absenteeism” at its Greeley beef production facility. The company said it was working in partnership with the U.S. federal government, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. Cory Gardner to secure COVID-19 tests for all team members at the Greeley plant.

President Donald Trump also referred to the outbreak at Colorado meat plants when speaking to reporters on Friday. Neither Pence nor Trump specified exactly which plant they were talking

MAYBE 200 TO 300 OF THE WORKFORCE HAVE BEEN IMPACTED.

about. Greeley is northeast of Denver.

“We’re looking at this graph where everything’s looking beautiful and is coming down and then you’ve got this one spike. I said, ‘What happened to Denver?’” Trump said. “And many people, very quickly.”

“By the way, they were on it like so fast, you wouldn’t believe it,” he said. “This just happened. I just saw it this morning. So we’ll be looking at that. We don’t want cases like that happening.”

While it’s unclear whether the deaths and other cases had anything to with the workplace, the news exposes the fragility of global supply chains that are needed to keep grocery stores stocked after panic buying left shelves empty. Pence has said that these workers are “vital,” calling on them to “show up and do your job” to keep the nation fed.

Plants across the U.S. are starting to reduce output or idle as cases spread from the main cities to rural America. Outbreaks have occurred in factories nationwide in recent weeks, with hundreds of workers being sent home.

Labourers have, in some cases, staged walkouts to protest working conditions. In meat plants, stations on processing lines can be close together, creating challenges for social distancing. Workers share break rooms and locker-rooms.