Mapping Covid-19 outbreaks in the food system

As we read about breakdowns in our food supply chain, Food and Environment Reporting Network (FERN) reporter Leah Douglas gathered the data on meat and poultry plants nationwide. Her full story, and the interactive map showing locations, and numbers of cases at each plant, is here.

According to data collected by FERN, as of May 22 at 12pm ET, at least 220 meatpacking and food processing plants and 20 farms and production facilities have confirmed cases of Covid-19, and at least four food processing plants are currently closed. At least 19,160 workers (17,360 meatpacking workers, 1,134 food processing workers, and 666 farmworkers) have tested positive for Covid-19 and at least 72 workers (66 meatpacking workers and 6 food processing workers) have died. 

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A beef plant in Colorado. A pork plant in Iowa. A hamburger plant in Pennsylvania. Since mid-March, outbreaks of Covid-19 have appeared in meatpacking plants across the country, infecting thousands of workers. The coronavirus has also reached workers in processed food facilities, which make frozen dinners, baked goods, and dairy products. And slowly, outbreaks are arriving at farms and ranches.