Recent figures show a surge of infections in meatpacking and poultry-processing plants. There’s been a spike of new cases among construction workers in Austin, Texas, where that sector recently returned to work. Even the White House has proven vulnerable, with positive coronavirus tests for one of Trump’s valets and for Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary.
The developments underscore the high stakes for communities nationwide as they gradually loosen restrictions on business.
“The people who are getting sick right now are generally people who are working,” Dr. Mark Escott, a regional health official, told Austin’s city council. “That risk is going to increase the more people are working.”
Austin’s concerns will likely be mirrored in communities nationwide as the reopening of stores and factories creates new opportunities for the virus to spread.
To be sure, there are plenty of new infections outside the workplace — in nursing homes, and among retired and unemployed people, particularly in densely populated places such as New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and urban parts of New Jersey and Massachusetts.
Yet of the 15 U.S. counties with the highest per-capita infection rates between April 28 and May 5, all are homes to meatpacking and poultry-processing plants or state prisons, according to data compiled by the AP.
The county with the highest per-capita rate was Tennessee’s Trousdale County, where nearly 1,300 inmates and 50 staffers recently tested positive at the privately run Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.
In the federal prison system, the number of positive cases has increased steadily. As of May 5, there were 2,066 inmates who’d tested positive, up from 730 on April 25.
The No. 2 county on AP’s list is Nobles County in Minnesota, which now has about 1,100 cases, compared to two in mid-April. The county seat, Worthington, is home to a JBS pork processing plant that employs hundreds of immigrants.
“One guy said to me, ‘I risked my life coming here. I never thought something that I can’t see could take me out,’” said the Rev. Jim Callahan of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Worthington.
Nebraska’s Dakota County, home to a Tyson Foods meat plant, had recorded three cases as of April 15, and now has more than 1,000. There have been at least three COVID-19 deaths, including a Muslim woman from Ethiopia who was among 4,300 employees at the Tyson plant.
“These are sad and dangerous days,” the imam of a regional Islamic center, Ahmad Mohammad, told the Siouxland News.
In northern Indiana’s Cass County, home to a large Tyson pork-processing plant, confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 1,500. That’s given the county — home to about 38,000 residents — one of the nation’s highest per-capita infection rates.
The Tyson plant in Logansport, Indiana, was closed April 25 after nearly 900 employees tested positive; it resumed limited operations Thursday after undergoing deep cleaning and installation of Plexiglas workstation barriers. Company spokeswoman Hli Yang said none of the 2,200 workers would return to work without being tested.
Also hard hit by recent infections are counties in Virginia, Delaware and Georgia where poultry-processing plants are located.
In New York, the hardest-hit state during most of the pandemic, a new survey suggests that factors other than the workplace were involved in many recent cases.
The survey of 1,269 patients admitted to 113 hospitals over three recent days confounded expectations that new cases would be dominated by essential workers, especially those traveling on subways and buses. Instead, retirees accounted for 37% of the people hospitalized; 46% were unemployed.
“We were thinking that maybe we were going to find a higher percentage of essential employees who were getting sick because they were going to work, that these may be nurses, doctors, transit workers. That’s not the case,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
In Pennsylvania, of 2,578 new cases between May 4 and May 6, more than 40% were people living in long-term care facilities. Health officials in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County said of the 352 new cases between April 20 and May 5, 35% were residents in long-term care facilities and 14% were health care workers.
Though the elderly continue to account for a disproportionate share of COVID-19 cases, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the age ratio is changing. In January-February, 76% of cases involved people 50 or older. Since March, only about half the cases are of that age range.
Many health workers were among the earliest Americans to test positive. They continue to be infected in large numbers.
Gerard Brogan, director of nursing practice for the California Nurses Association, says as many as 200 nurses a day tested positive in California recently. Nationwide, he says the National Nurses United had tallied more than 28,000 positive tests and more than 230 deaths among health workers.
Among those recently testing positive was Dr. Pramila Kolisetty of Scarsdale, New York, who has a rehab and pain management practice in the Bronx and is married to a urologist.
Even after New York imposed an extensive lockdown, she went to her office two to three times a week while trying to transition to telemedicine.
“It took time for us to get ourselves organized,” she said. “We can’t just close the office and say, that’s it.”
Some of her staff fell sick with COVID-19, and she started feeling symptoms a few weeks ago. After testing positive, she isolated at home and is now practicing telemedicine.
Cuomo, the New York governor, said individual decisions could help slow the pace of new infections.
“Much of this comes down to what you do to protect yourself,” Cuomo said at a recent briefing. “Everything is closed down, the government has done everything it could. … Now it’s up to you. Are you wearing a mask, are you doing the hand sanitizer?”
____
Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Associated Press
4 comments
Ray Blacklidge
May 12, 2020 at 2:06 pm
So, when is the right time to get back to work? How long will it take before our economy won’t be able to bounce back? We will always have a bump in cases as people go back out. What death rate is acceptable to go back out? AP doesn’t know, I don’t know, that’s why it’s important to follow what Florida’s Governor is doing. Asking those questions and not conjecturing but gather real data and letting the real data dictate our actions on reopening.
Margaret Blustine
May 12, 2020 at 4:51 pm
De santis continues to lie abt still consistent way too high cases to reopen.may 11 by fla state health dept.reports was 941 not half that deaths were 44 not 11. He doesn’t volunteer snowbirds been fla many months caught it here.april 23 was 1072 may 1 still 1038 new may 4 was 819 new may 7 826 may 9 802. In no way are most these true new cases nursing homes prisons.they are regular fla people living here.de santis has no plateau that is even close to low enough to reopen anything.no flattening.may 1 before phase 1 was still 826 new cases.all over fla. He’s lying abt low new cases why isn’t the media calling him on this deadly continuing lying.the number before phase 1 was still as bad almost as highest day.he is not complying with fedl guidelines and fla meets no criteria to open.no tracing hardly.very little testing still per capita not enough supplies etc exact same downfall criteria trump never met for nation.true numbers are daily by fla state health dept.reports and de santis plain out lying.it’s obvious with such high daily new cases still that workers will sicken in ongoing wave 1 thru 2021 at least.it will within 3 weeks start short-lived businesses to total collapse long time way past november.it’s obvious how fast virus hits workers and continues onward by businesses Packers etc etc now having too little workers to be open.that’s exactly same thing happen in fla and across America with now 325 million exposed to countless unknown infected and carriers day after day week after week etc etc never ending until very soon total economic collapse in fla and america.fla has more cases and again rising daily abt 1000 than 243 countries and 25000 more cases than large majority of them.why doesn’t media call out de santis lies abt new cases and actual deaths as he says cases declining a lot now weeks.1000 to 800 may be declining but stillikai much too high to do phase 1 even.he’s deliberately lying to fla as trump is to america.fedl medical experts say very catatrosphic economically and in lives to start reopen any state without much more per capita testing good contact tracing in place and medical beds available.yet so many are opening without criteria 14 days declining consecutive and now
no chance virus won’t win and soon destroy economy.it will be fast.de santis says 20000 beds available.but not isolation needed ones.opened few days went from 800 plus back to 946 may 11 actual and he still lies when fla health dept.reports is accurate.de santis says half correct number. Nothing is contained or controlled in fla and many states before they reopened. Now will skyrocket to economic collapse.all ages workers getting hit hard and fast.will continue upward spiral of infection now opened exposure everywhere to 325 million americans.it’s obvious what’s happening and needs strict lockdown.de santis ignores true new case numbers as he wants stay open appease insane trump plan doomed to backfire fast.de santis needs the media see and report new cases still abt what were worst days way too high even still before phase 1. He continues to lie instead of shutting down as positive new cases increasing rapidly as he said hexpect would watch for.he sees then lies abt numbers.daily.fla and most of America does not meet fedl or dr faucI guidelines to not open yet until testing contact tracing supplies are in place.due to trumps not helping and governors flounduring without fedl presidential needed help and leadership is destroying america.lives suffering economy.daily.the media needs to check past month state fla health dept.reports against de santis continually lying abt new case and death numbers to fool fla people and not stop opening as cases warrant be done.fla has never had low enough cases to reopen.every day was way too high even a very few days at 500 weeks ago.de santis told fla were 397 new cases when we’re over 800 still before opened even.media needs call him out on these false numbers that don’t match fla state health dept.reports true daily new cases.he’s criminally lying to fla.easy check true numbers for last 5 weeks and last 3 weeks etc against what he states on TV and uses confusing tricks how he reached his number when it has no bearing on truth.media needs call him out list checklist both true and his false numbers.as fla is leading total economic collapse as fla is one of 6 highest cases by far in 50 states and soon will be 2nd.de santis is lYing worse daily media needs stop his lying numbers to fool fla and get away from his statementor he would act if cases high.so he continually lies cuts numbers in half.easy to check.is mass murder and economic collapse will backfire again as everything he does is too little too late full of lies.call him out easy to check on his false numbers.
gabriel
May 12, 2020 at 2:19 pm
lazy news copy and pasted from leftist news sources. “thousands” “everyday”
99% recovery rate.
Sonja Fitch
May 13, 2020 at 5:29 am
Any life lost is not acceptable! The need for treatment is the win til a vaccine! The need for test,ALL, gives a better plan for health and safety. Quarantine works. Slow WEAR a Damn Mask!!!! Breathing talking walking running jogging biking Et al. You leave a covid Trail! It ain’t that hard to Cover Your mouth and nose!!! Really you ain’t that cute!
Comments are closed.