Our small community's Facebook page tells us about school athletic contests being cancelled, given illnesses at area schools. We're hoping the best for everyone. It's been a long time since Governor Noem closed South Dakota schools mid-way in the spring semester.
In early April 2020, we posted We're not New York City: Sioux Fall Smithfield packing plant 4th largest hotspot in United States and We're not New York City, part II: Sioux Falls Smithfield pork plant closing indefinitely.
In the latter post:
On Friday, we posted, We're not New York City: Sioux Fall Smithfield packing plant 4th largest hotspot in United States, when the pork-processing plant was slated to close for a three-day wipe-down.
Everything has changed, as the count of positive COVID-19 cases among the 3,700 person workforce climbs to 238. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports in Smithfield Foods to close Sioux Falls plant indefinitely amid COVID-19 outbreak:
Smithfield Foods will close its Sioux Falls facility until further notice, the company announced Sunday in a news release.
The closure comes after the South Dakota Department of Health said 238 of Minnehaha's 438 COVID-19 cases involve "individuals who work at Smithfield Foods." The plant was identified as the largest hot spot in the state with about 38% of the state's cases. Those numbers were last updated Saturday.
Smithfield will fully shutdown on Wednesday. The plant will partially be operated through Tuesday to process inventory, according to the news release.
More: Noem: Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls needs to shut down for 14 days
Smithfield previously announced that it would close for three days for cleaning starting Saturday and continue through Monday.
On Saturday, Gov. Kristi Noem and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken sent a letter to Smithfield, asking operations to close for two weeks so the facility could be cleaned and employees could recover from any suspected illness. The call to action also requested that Smithfield continue to pay its 3,700 employees during the closure, though the state won't be providing any financial aid to the company, Noem said on Saturday. . . .
At the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Sonya Swink reported Friday in COVID-19 cases rising again at Smithfield plant as standards relax, union leader says:
Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, spent hundreds of millions of dollars and assigned a team of dedicated employees to enforce social distancing and sanitize surfaces last year after the Sioux Falls plant became the site of one of the nation's largest COVID-19 outbreaks early in the pandemic.
Those monitor roles have since been cut, right as cases of COVID-19 increase nationwide; in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and at that Smithfield plant, union leaders say.
In a statement to Reuters, China-owned Smithfield Foods confirmed that it shifted the monitors' duties to other personnel starting in the second part of 2021 after vaccines became more available and the routines became “second nature.”
United Food & Commercial Workers Union leader B.J. Motley told the Argus Leader that many workers at Smithfield have COVID-19 once again. The company has been doing daily testing as the Omicron variant rises, but monitor duties were cut, he said.
“We have seen a drastic rise in cases in the last two weeks,” Motley said. “We believe the company can do more in enforcing social distancing and sanitizing. We believe our workers are at risk and we are doing everything we can as a union to protect our workers.”
Jim Monroe, the vice president of corporate affairs for Smithfield Foods told the Argus Leader the company has "in no way rolled back COVID-19 safety protocols."
"We have invested more than $800 million to protect our team from COVID-19, hosted approximately 200 on-site vaccine drives and continue to follow all CDC and OSHA guidelines," Monroe said.
Smithfield Foods did not confirm how many workers have tested positive at the Sioux Falls plant. Motley told the Argus Leader that there were over 80 confirmed cases at the plant as of Jan. 7, though that number is likely skewed due to a lack or reporting, he added.
But Motley told Reuters the cleaning enforcements have relaxed.
"We don't have anybody monitoring social distancing. We don't have anybody wiping tables down. It's really back to normal," he told the news outlet.
Motley estimates 60% of Smithfield's workers have been vaccinated, and that boosters aren't readily available, according to the Reuters article. . . .
Read the rest at the Argue Leader.
Curiously enough, the Reuters report referenced in the Argus Leader article, U.S. meat plants relaxed COVID-19 safety protocols after outbreaks: unions, was published December 21, 2021.
According to South Dakota Public Broadcasting, The state Department of Health confirms first case of the Omicron variant in South Dakota | Dec 22.
One day later.
From the Reuters story:
Smithfield Foods (SFII.UL), the world's largest pork producer, last year assigned a team of dedicated employees to enforce social distancing and sanitize surfaces at a South Dakota slaughterhouse where COVID-19 infected nearly 1,300 workers, the president of the local labor union said.
Now, that role no longer exists, the company confirmed.
The plant gradually moved employees who worked as safety monitors to other positions, said BJ Motley, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union branch that represents Smithfield workers in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Smithfield, which is owned by Hong Kong-listed WH Group Ltd (0288.HK), said it shifted the monitors' duties to other personnel starting in the second quarter of this year because COVID-19 safety protocols became "second nature" and vaccines were available. As for cleaning, the company said facilities are "routinely sanitized for food safety reasons."
Across the country, U.S. meat and chicken plants that reported some of the country's largest coronavirus outbreaks last year have eased or adjusted protective measures implemented near the start of the pandemic, according to interviews with 10 plant employees, union officials and advocates for workers.
Safety concerns in slaughterhouses, where employees are often in close quarters, have made it harder for meat processors to hire and retain workers at a time when labor is already scarce and demand is booming. ...
Workers and advocates say the companies could do more as the contagious Omicron variant rages and soaring meat prices boost profits. read more
"We don't have anybody monitoring social distancing. We don't have anybody wiping tables down. It's really back to normal," Motley said. . ..
Read the rest at Reuters.
Stay safe and warm, one and all.
Related posts:
- Dead Smithfield worker's wife: "In the name of Jesus Christ, these people need to face justice."
- Shared meat-packing workforce: Sioux Falls COVID-19 cluster may have MN community echo
- We're not New York City: Sioux Fall Smithfield packing plant 4th largest hotspot in United States
- We're not New York City, part II: Sioux Falls Smithfield pork plant closing indefinitely
- We're not New York City, part III: Washington Post reports on Noem's fearless leadership
- COVID-19 infection cluster in Sioux Falls, S.D. draws contrast with Minnesota (Minnesota Reformer)
Photo: The Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls.
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