SIOUX FALLS, S. D. — Mayor Paul TenHaken said the giant Smithfield hog-processing company is caught between state and federal pressure about whether to shut down Sioux Falls plant, where 190 cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed. The federal government, he said, wants the plant open so as not to disrupt he national food chain. State authorities fear a spreading epidemic. For now Smithield has ordered a three-day shutdown sanitize the plant and install physical barriers between workers. TenHaken isn’t sure the plant itself isn’t the problem: “It’s happening when people leave the plant.”
Earlier: Cynicism among Smithfield workers
Sioux Falls hog workers
The Smithfield pork-packing 0pant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has 3,700 employees who speak more than 80 languages. Most are Hispanic and Nepalese.