Workers wear protective masks and stand between plastic dividers at Tyson Foods’ poultry processing plant in Camilla, Ga., in April. (Tyson Foods via AP)
(CN) Working shoulder-to-shoulder in one large room, shouting at each other over loud machinery, meatpacking workers are at severe risk of contracting Covid-19. New research found ventilation is key to preventing major outbreaks at these plants.
Meatpackers account for 0.16 % of the U.S. population, but they make up 1% of all Covid-19 cases in the U.S., roughly 166,000, said Felicia Wu, a Michigan State University toxicology professor who presented a study Tuesday in which she and her colleagues developed a Covid-infection risk model for the meatpacking industry.