| Almost as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S., it became clear the virus was tearing through the cramped, cold, damp confines of the nation's meatpacking plants. Now, a new U.S. Department of Agriculture report documents the sheer scale of the devastation. By late April, Covid infections in the 56 mostly rural counties dependent on the meatpacking industry were running as much as 10 times the rate of other rural U.S. counties. The report examined the spread of the disease in counties in which meatpacking accounts for at least 20% of employment. Beginning in mid-April, confirmed Covid cases in those counties outpaced the rest of the country and remained "much higher" than in other U.S. counties through mid-July, the USDA's Economic Research Service found. Meat-processing plants quickly became epicenters of the virus in the U.S. in the spring as their mostly immigrant employees continued to work, sometimes shoulder to shoulder and often without protective gear.  Workers wear protective masks as they walk outside the National Beef meatpacking in Dodge City, Kansas, in May. Photographer: Charlie Riedel/AP The rate of infection in the meatpacking-dependent counties was 10 times the rate of other rural counties in late April and still seven times the rate in late May, the USDA report found. All rural counties have experienced a surge in Covid cases in recent months, though the current outbreak doesn't appear to be centered in meatpacking plants, according to the report.
Rural areas recently surpassed urban and suburban parts of the country in cumulative Covid deaths as a portion of population. As of last week, there were 109 cumulative deaths per 100,000 residents in "non-core" counties, the least-populated classification, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Over the past week, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa reported some of the highest death rates when scaled for population. New cases were worst in Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma.—Mike Dorning | 
Post a Comment