Coronavirus: Meatpackers demand Farmer John plant be closed - Los Angeles Times

The outbreak at the Farmer John plant, a division of Smithfield Foods that produces Dodger Dogs and other pork products, is by far the largest in Los Angeles County to occur outside of a nursing home, prison or other residential setting, according to data from the county’s Public Health Department.

The union wants Smithfield to continue paying workers while the company shutters the plant for cleaning and an investigation into whether it is in compliance with state regulators and the county health department.

At Farmer John, the company has taken measures it says follow or exceed guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

At Farmer John, there was an initial outbreak in the ham-boning department last month, but it appeared to be under control until recently, union representatives said, when the number of cases reported to local health officials began skyrocketing.

A spokesman for the county Public Health Department, which has been assisting the city of Vernon in responding to the outbreak, said it was unclear whether the rise in cases was due to additional testing “or to spread amongst workers.”.

Pedro Albarran, an El Monte resident who has worked at Farmer John for 25 years, said the company did not begin providing masks and face shields until his colleagues got sick and a delegation of workers went repeatedly to management.

Public health officials have said they are concerned about factory workers bringing the virus home to relatives and neighbors