A day after mayors in the Sioux City metro area called for more transparency from local businesses in reporting cases of COVID-19, Tyson Foods in Dakota City says it will not share information surrounding the number of impacted employees.
Tyson says is has taken measures to protect team members.
At a news conference on Tuesday, the Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds was asked if packing plants should release more information about the number of positive cases.
She plans to look more into the privacy issues raised by reporters but says it is important to keep plants in operation.
“Our processing plants are doing all they can to make sure employees are working in a safe environment.”
“We have a role and obligation to feed the world and keep food on the plate.”
When asked about concern raised by area mayors, Nebraska Pete Ricketts gave a brief answer. He told Siouxland Public Media news to check the state’s website for the number of positive cases in Dakota County.
There were 21 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Dakota County for a total of 629. There are more than 700 in Woodbury County.
Testing is expected to ramp up in both counties sometime soon.
The number of infection at one Tyson Plant was released by the Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department. It confirmed a total of 74 cases at the Tyson Foods plant in Madison, Nebraska.
President Donald Trump is signing an executive order to try and stop a shortage of meat because of the coronavirus.
The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as a critical industry to ensure production plants stay open.
However, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union says Tyson and all meatpacking plants must act immediately to protect American workers and the food supply.
Iowa and Nebraska are warning laid off workers that they will lose their unemployment benefits if they refuse to return when their employer calls them back.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is moving to partially reopen 77 of the state’s 99 counties on Friday. Nebraska is opening up businesses in some parts of the state on Monday.
The reopening comes as Iowa experiences one of the nation’s fastest growth rates in coronavirus cases. There were nine more deaths reported on Tuesday and 600 more cases. More than 20% of the new cases come from Woodbury County.
Gov. Kim Reynolds said at a news conference on Tuesday she has lifted restrictions on religious gatherings because she feels they are protected by the First Amendment.
Reynolds said churches are now required to take reasonable public health measures to prevent the spread of the virus. But they do not have an occupancy cap as restaurants, fitness centers and malls do.
We would encourage them to continue to offer online services especially for our most vulnerable Iowans that should continue to use the online services for church we're also encouraging them to practice and they will to practice social distancing, to think about different measures that they can put in place.
Previously, spiritual gatherings were limited to 10 people prompting many religious organizations to hold services online or through drive-in settings.