CDC makes recommendations to South Dakota pork plant, working on nationwide plan

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday issued recommendations to a pork plant in South Dakota where nearly 800 workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, The Associated Press reported.

After touring the plant, where management told the CDC that more than 40 languages are spoken, the agency recommended multilingual signage and guidance with picture diagrams to improve communication in the facility.

The CDC also found that even though the plant currently has far fewer workers than usual, many of them were standing closer than 6 feet apart and not wearing face masks, according to the AP.

The company said it will also begin issuing workers a new face mask every day and issue face shields to all production staff, the AP reported.

Smithfield spokeswoman Keira Lombardo told the AP the company is still going over the report and did not give any indication when the company plans to reopen the plant. Gov. Kristi Noem (R) has said she would prefer to see the facility open as quickly as possible.

While the CDC memo specifically applies to the Sioux Falls Smithfield Foods plant, the agency is developing guidelines to be applied to meat processing plants around the country.

At least one worker at the Sioux Falls plant has died from the virus. The widow of Augustin Rodriguez, Angelita, told the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader last week that her husband continued coming to work with symptoms of the virus because he needed the money and that the company did not properly protect him.

Company officials continued operations at the plant after the first case was confirmed there, adding hand sanitizer stations and offering a $500 “responsibility bonus” to any worker who did not miss any shifts in April. More than 600 positive cases have been directly tied to the plant, making it the largest known hot spot for the virus in the U.S.