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Law360 (May 1, 2020, 10:29 PM EDT ) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged "prompt action" by meat and poultry processing facilities to reduce workplace safety risks after finding that at least 4,913 workers in plants across the country have contracted COVID-19 and 20 have died.
Meat and poultry plants must be laser focused on worker safety, the agency said, after determining that 4,913 workers in 115 facilities across 19 states contracted the virus. There are roughly 130,000 workers at plants in the states included in the report, with the highest number of cases in Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Virginia.
"As part of the national COVID-19 response, the recognized risk to meat and poultry facility operation requires prompt action to decrease risks to workers, preserve facility function, and maintain the food supply," the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said.
The agency calculated the number of cases with help from state and local officials and its own on-site and remote assessments between April 9 and 27. The findings are likely under-representing the virus' impact on meat plant workers due to differences in access to testing and failure by states and facilities to participate in the report, the agency said.
While the report noted that it's difficult to accurately determine whether all of the cases were transmitted at the workplace or at home, researchers urged facilities to follow CDC guidance for critical infrastructure, install engineering controls, ensure proper sanitation and promote social distancing by repositioning workers and providing personal protective equipment.
"Crowded conditions for workers in meat and poultry processing facilities could result in high risk for SARS-CoV-S transmission," the report said. "Respiratory disease outbreaks in this type of setting demonstrate the need for heightened attention to worker safety."
The agency also suggested updating personnel policies that let workers take sick leave without loss of pay or seniority, adjust timing of breaks to allow for social distancing and provide all safety information in each worker's languages.
Friday's report comes days after President Donald Trump designated meatpacking plants as critical infrastructure amid the pandemic.
The president signed an executive order on Tuesday deeming meat processors to be critical under the Defense Production Act to shore up the food supply chain and remove a "legal roadblock" for those companies facing potential liability.
"With the meatpacking and the transportation, we have had some difficulty, where they're having a liability that's really unfair to them. … [We're] taking the liability which frees up the entire system," Trump said in a press conference at the White House. "There's plenty of supply. It's distribution."
The order noted that outbreaks among workers and actions by states related to COVID-19 may have led to large processing facilities being shut, and tasked the U.S Department of Agriculture with ensuring meat processors continue operating, while also following guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the CDC.
Tyson Foods Inc. worked with the Trump administration on the order after its chairman, John Tyson, said closures of its pork, beef and chicken plants would lead to "millions of pounds of meat [disappearing] from the supply chain" and food shortages.
Tyson Foods is the biggest meat processor in the U.S. and one of several processors that have temporarily shuttered plants or slowed down operations, due to pressure from local authorities and unions, as well as thousands of workers staying home because they are sick or are concerned about getting sick.
Trump's directive was slammed by Democrats and some workers' groups.
Rep Bobby Scott, D-Va., said in a statement that the order was "profoundly disturbing."
"If the Trump administration plans to use the Defense Production Act to force meat processing plants to stay open, the American public must understand that workers will continue to get sick and die," Scott said.
--Additional reporting by Daniel Wilson, Vin Gurrieri and Adam Lidgett. Editing by Emily Kokoll.
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