Fourth USDA Inspector Dies Amid Meat Plant Virus Outbreaks

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-14/fourth-usda-inspector-dies-from-virus-amid-meat-plant-outbreaks?fbclid=IwAR1DhSNbboUHYmdYoy4IZzm4-AC41u2vQwBNs2OVtwdUnBtl7Yw_EWfWapY

By Mike Dorning
May 13, 2020, 10:59 PM EDT Updated on May 14, 2020, 1:18 PM EDT

A fourth U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety inspector died Wednesday from Covid-19, according to a union official, amid an outbreak of the virus in the nation’s meat processors.

The inspector was located in Dodge City, Kansas, said Paula Schelling, acting national joint council chairperson for food inspection locals for the American Federation of Government Employees. Schelling declined to provide additional details, saying the inspector’s family wants to keep the matter private.

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The virus has spread through meat processors, where employees typically work close together in cramped, cold spaces. USDA inspectors work on the production floor, checking meat for safety. A number of plants closed temporarily because of outbreaks.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order April 28 directing meatpackers to reopen and the USDA announced Friday that 14 processing facilities were reopening. Schelling didn’t provide details on when the deceased inspector contracted the virus.


At least 30 meat workers have died of coronavirus and more than 10,000 have been infected or exposed, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. At least 30 plants have closed at some point in the past two months, the union said May 8.

As of Tuesday, 123 USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service employees were under self-quarantine due to coronavirus exposure and another 171 field employees were absent from work due to a Covid-19 diagnosis, according to a USDA statement earlier in the day.

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