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The family of a 65-year-old Iowa man is suing Tyson after he died of COVID-19 while working at the company s pork plant in Storm Lake. Michael Everhard, of Fonda, died June 18, three weeks after he contracted the virus. His family contends in a lawsuit that Tyson didn t implement proper safety precautions to protect Everhard and other employees from the virus. Several Tyson executives at the plant are also named in the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Everhard s three children. A Tyson spokeswoman said the company has implemented several safety measures that meet or exceed federal guidelines designed to slow the spread of the
After a punishing fall that left hospitals struggling, some Midwestern states are seeing a decline in new coronavirus cases. But the signs of improvement are offset by the virus s accelerating spread on both coasts: In California, officials scrambled to distribute body bags and deploy mobile morgues as infections rose at an alarming rate.
States including Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska have seen decreases in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 over the past couple of weeks. All, however, are still experiencing an alarming number of deaths and hospitalizations because of the earlier surge of cases.
With winter weather driving people indoors, where the virus spreads more easily, there’s no guarantee the improving dynamic can be maintained, doctors and public health officials say.
Omaha suburb drops its mask mandate 10 days after it began
December 16, 2020 GMT
PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) One Omaha suburb dropped its mask mandate 10 days after it took effect after the number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in the state declined.
Papillion officials linked their mandate to the level of virus hospitalizations when they joined more than a dozen other Nebraska cities in requiring masks.
The Papillion mask rule was eliminated this week because COVID-19 cases accounted for less than 20% of the state’s hospital beds over the past 14 days. That metric is similar to the standard Gov. Pete Ricketts uses to determine whether to tighten or relax social distancing restrictions in the state.