Like many other sectors, the meat and poultry industry has faced unprecedented disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. animal slaughter and processing industry employs an estimated 525,000 workers in approximately 3,500 facilities nationwide.1 It relies heavily on humans working in tight quarters on production lines, making it especially vulnerable. What is the current state of knowledge of the risk factors for workers?
One of the first reports of a COVID-19 outbreak in the industry was a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describing an outbreak of 929 cases among 3,635 employees of a South Dakota meat processing plant from March 16 to April 25, 2020.2 CDC investigators were called to investigate at the request of the South Dakota Department of Health. Most of the cases (96%) had symptoms of COVID-19, including cough, fever, and shortness of breath. Thirty-nine of those individuals were hospitalized, 14 were eventually admitted to ICUs, and 2 died. Most of the cases (64%) were male, with a median age of 42. Those who became hospitalized were older, in their 60s. Nonsalaried employees (mostly line workers) were more likely to be infected than salaried employees (managerial or administrative staff). The facility harvested and processed animals during two shifts, with a third shift devoted to sanitizing the facility. Workers fell ill on all three shifts, however; those who worked in the cut, conversion, and harvest departments fell ill at a higher rate than other workers. In these departments, employees worked less than six feet (two meters) apart from each other. Investigators concluded that such factors as high employee density in work and common areas (e.g., cafeterias, locker rooms, and equipment-dispensing areas), prolonged close contact between employees during shifts, and COVID-19 transmission occurring in the local community all contributed to the outbreak. At the height of the outbreak, an average of 67 new cases occurred per day in plant employees. Within 7 days of the facility starting a phased closure, new cases had fallen to a rate of 10 per day. Investigators recommended using a system of control measures to reduce the risk of infection to employees, stressing that no one single control measure could prevent transmission. Controls could be engineering (e.g., modifying workstations), administrative (promoting social distancing or developing procedures to screen employees), and prophylactic (using face masks or coverings). The CDC is careful to note that face masks/coverings are not appropriate substitutes for personal protective equipment (PPE), such as N95 respirators or surgical face masks, in workplaces where such equipment is required.3 Also, in the challenging environment of a processing plant, workers probably can’t wear a single mask for an entire shift: Masks must be changed whenever they become wet or soiled.