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News and resources regarding COVID-19

News 6.2.20: Primary Election Day, Local C-19 Update and George Floyd Protests

June 2, 2020
Siouxland Public Media

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SPM NEWS 6.2.20 - 4:32PM
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SPM NEWS 6.2.20 - 5:32PM

Polls remain open tonight until 9 for primary election underway in Iowa.

Republican voters in the 4th Congressional District will decide if they will pick incumbent Steve King to be the candidate to face Democrat J.D. Scholten in the fall.  Democrats will choose a challenger to take on Senator Joni Ernst.

Woodbury County election officials reported more requests for voting by absentee ballot. Because of concerns over COVID-19 there are five polling spots in Woodbury County instead of 44.  Early this afternoon there was a steady flow of people casting their ballot at the Long Lines Rec Center.  Many said they were there because of the race for Woodbury County Sheriff that pits two Republican candidates against each other; long-time employee Major Todd Wieck and former Sioux City police officer Chad Sheehan.

Polls in South Dakota close tonight at 7 p.m. There are many races on the ballot including the Democratic Primary.  Even though Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race, he is still on the ballot in South Dakota.

Local health officials report three more deaths due to COVID-19 for a total of 62 in the Sioux City metro area.  Two in Woodbury County; an older man and elderly woman.  There was one death in Dakota County.  There have been 36 deaths in Woodbury County and 26 in Dakota County.  There were two new cases in Dakota County for a total of 1,683 and 25 more in Woodbury County for a total of 2,786.

State officials are reporting 264 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iowa. This brings the state’s total to 19,952 cases as of Tuesday morning.

Twenty new deaths from the virus were also reported. So far, 558 Iowans have died from COVID-19.

Three-hundred and twenty-seven  are currently hospitalized and more than 11,000 have recovered.

South Dakota has reported 33 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths. The new cases bring the state’s total case count to 5,067, but 80% of those have recovered. 1,015 people still have active cases of COVID-19, and 62 people have died from the virus. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has remained mostly constant around 64 per day. There has been a further downward trend in the last two days.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says she will consider the opinions of local state leaders before she calls in additional help with looting and rioting.  

There have been protests around the country asking for change after the police killing of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis last week. 

At new conference on Tuesday, Governor Reynolds was asked about need to control protesters. 

“There is a dichotomy that’s happening right now. You have those who want to protest peacefully, and have every right to do that. And you have those who want to take advantage of what has happened and cause chaos.  They are hijacking the message and they are not helping us move forward and that is just not going to be tolerated.”

Reynolds also mentioned the primary election today, saying local curfews will not prevent voters from casting their ballots.

In Sioux City, it was a quieter downtown last night.  No one was arrested as 200 people gathered outside the Sioux City Police headquarters building late last night into early morning to protest the death of George Floyd.  Yesterday, Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott said he would consider calling for a curfew, but no decision has been yet as of yet. 

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse took issue with actions made by President Donald Trump last night.  The Republican told the Omaha World Herald, “There is no right to riot, no right to destroy others’ property, and no right to throw rocks at police.  But there is a fundamental, a Constitutional right to protest, and I’m against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the World of God as a political prop.”

Last night, protesters were removed from an area near the White House so the President could walk through the area to a nearby church.  He held up a Bible for a photograph.

Tyson Foods put out a news release today surrounding an outbreak at the pork plant in Storm Lake.  Out of 2,300 employees who work at the facility, almost 600 tested positive.  Company officials say more than 75 percent did not show any symptoms. 

Almost a third of the workers who tested positive have been cleared to go back to work.

Limited production will continue tomorrow after deep cleaning and sanitation. 

Meanwhile, the beef plant in Dakota City is slowly ramping up operations.  Nearly 800 of 4,300 workers are still on leave after they became infected.

Iowa schools start serving free summer meals to kids and teens this week, continuing with social distancing guidelines and grab-and-go meals they started serving in March because of the pandemic.

The Sioux City Community School District has served more than 250-thousand free meals to kids ages 1 through 18. Food Service Director Rich Luze says on average, the district has served 4,000 to 5,000 meals each day.

Numbers are coming in about what were expected. We just hope that it does continue on once all the people go back to work once summer rolls in and that we don’t drop off like it has typically been in the past summers.”

Luze says the school district serves around 15-hundred meals a day in a typical summer. Usually kids must eat their meals on site. But because of COVID-19, they’ll continue to pick up their meals and leave. 

News Release from Tyson Foods:

TYSON FOODS, INC. RELEASES RESULTS FROM COVID-19 TESTING AT STORM LAKE, IA PLANT
 
More than 75% of Individuals Who Tested Positive Did Not Show Symptoms
 
Company is Committed to Disclosing Test Results to Help Keep Team Members and the Community Safe
 
SPRINGDALE, Ark. – June 2, 2020 – Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) announced today the results of facilitywide testing for COVID-19 at its Storm Lake, Iowa pork facility, where limited production will resume on June 3 following a temporary halt during which additional deep cleaning and sanitizing was conducted. Of the 2,303 team members who work at the facility and were tested, 591 tested positive, more than 75 percent of whom did not show any symptoms and otherwise would not have been identified.
 
The total comprises 58 individuals who were tested by the Department of Health or when seeking care through their own health care providers and an additional 533 who were tested onsite from May 18 to May 21. Team members who test positive receive paid leave and may return to work only when they have met the criteria established by both the CDC and Tyson. In all, 186 of the team members who tested positive have been through their required absence and have now returned to work.
 
The Storm Lake facility is among more than 40 production facilities in the United States where Tyson is rolling out advanced testing capabilities and enhanced care options onsite to team members in partnership with , a leading medical clinical services company, and other partners.
 
Matrix Medical
 
“We are thankful for the efforts of Tyson Foods’ management and team members to ensure the safety of employees as they continue in the best manner possible to process food for our country,” said Keri Navratil, City Manager for Storm Lake. “We know that the efforts to protect Tyson team members also protect their families and, in turn, our other residents.”
 
As it is doing at the Storm Lake facility, Tyson will disclose test results at other plants where it is conducting facility-wide testing to health and government officials, team members and stakeholders as part of its efforts to help affected communities where it operates better understand the coronavirus and the protective measures that can be taken to help prevent its spread.
 
“Our top priority is the health and safety of our team members, and we continue to take strong action to ensure they feel protected in their community and when they come to work,” said Tom Brower, Senior Vice President of Health and Safety for Tyson Foods. “As in Storm Lake, we are routinely finding high levels of asymptomatic positives when we test widely at our plants and because of that, we can do a public service by sharing the results with the local community.”
 
The company is prioritizing large-scale testing in communities with a higher prevalence of COVID-19 and will assess additional needs based on risk factors and access to testing.
 
Team members at Tyson’s Storm Lake facility have access to daily clinical screenings, nurse practitioners and enhanced education. Tyson has also put in place a host of protective steps that meet or exceed CDC and OSHA guidance for preventing COVID-19. These include symptom screenings for all team members before every shift, providing mandatory protective face masks to all team members, as well as a range of social distancing measures, including physical barriers between workstations and in breakrooms.
 
“Our team members are essential to helping feed the nation, and their health and safety come first,” said Rick Retzlaff, Complex Manager for Tyson in Storm Lake. “Disclosing our testing results will help better protect our team members and help provide the wider Storm Lake community with the information it needs to stop the spread of the virus.”
 
Tyson Foods has increased short-term disability coverage to 90% of normal pay until June 30 to encourage team members to stay home when they are sick. The company also has doubled its “thank you” bonus for its frontline workers. Team members who cannot come to work because of illness or childcare issues related to COVID-19 will continue to qualify.
 
About Tyson Foods
 
Tyson Foods, Inc. is one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells®, ibp® and State Fair®. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it’s available and raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 141,000 team members. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit .