Last updated on 2020-04-20
South Dakota state epidemiologist Josh Clayton confirmed that one of Brown County’s two new cases of coronavirus has happened at the Demkota Ranch beef plant on the south edge of Aberdeen:
When asked by the American News about a positive case at DemKota, South Dakota State Epidemiologist Josh Clayton said there is one case under investigation that involves an employee at DemKota.
“As we do with all the facilities we conduct an assessment of work close contacts as well as community close contacts of all positive cases making special recommendations to that plant to reduce the potential for transmission,” Clayton said [Kelda J.L. Pharris, “Health Officials Confirm One Positive Case at Demkota,” Aberdeen American News, 2020.04.17].
One week ago, Aberdeen mayor Travis Schaunaman assured the public that Demkota was doing everything it could to keep its employees and the public safe:
“Like most of you I’ve kept a close eye on the Smithfield outbreak in Sioux Falls and want to be sure that something like that doesn’t happen here,” said Aberdeen Mayor Travis Schaunaman in a video he posted to Facebook. He spoke Friday while standing outside the DemKota plant south of town.
“I’ve worked with Adam (Bode) in the operations management department at the beef plant to ensure they’ve done everything possible to prevent the flow of the virus into their plant and the spread if it arrives,” Schaunaman said
Bode reiterated earlier statements the plant had made about following World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, stating that was a minimum baseline that plant is using in his response to an email from the American News [Kelda J.L. Pharris, “Demkota Announces Safety Protocols After Sioux Falls Plant Outbreak, Closure,” Aberdeen American News, 2020.04.13].
Everything possible, it appears, other than shutting the plant down and sending workers home for the rest of the month.
We saw what happened last time the state recognized a case of coronavirus at a crowded meatpacking plant and sat idly by letting Big-Meat Capitalism operate unabated. So hey, Mayor Schaunaman, Commissioner Kippley, and Governor Noem, let’s try a little epidemiological experiment: let’s see what happens this time if we shut the plant down immediately, issue a three-week stay-at-home order for everyone in Brown County, and see how Brown County’s contagion curve compares with Minnehaha’s.
Oh, yeah, and Kristi, instead of buying more of Donald Trump’s Wonder Pills, you could put more state money into a meatpackers’ relief fund to help Smithfield and Demkota workers pay for things they actually need while they wait to see when they can safely return to work.
if it is true that slight measures have been taken but only for employees in the cold area, employees in the hot Harvest area are still piled up, with no cover mouth, perhaps we do not all work for the same plant, why wait for the contagion and spread to arise , why only isolate employees from a small area if measures are not taken for distancing, why they did not enter the plant to see it with their own eyes, and why keep hiring new staff without first putting them in isolation to avoid spreading the contagion, because there are employees who come and go on vacation and are not isolated on their return, why not prevent all this if they have observed what has happened in other plants, in other cities?
You do not have to have infections due to lack of prevention, you do not have to close the plant and have human losses and millions of dollars, you just have to be honest in a situation like it is and face reality, if the pandemic spreads inside the plant, everyone from its rightful owner to the cleaning employee, we will be losers not only of economy but also of human lives that thanks to those lives the production that the economy raises is removed, no matter where we are from, we work and value work as much as health, family and life
Well there are no inspectors any more at any of these plants. trump eliminated inspectors and let the company’s handle that chore. So there ya go, all is safe and nothing to worry about..unless you work there or are a consumer.
All of this should make us all really wonder if consuming meat is really a good idea from these places. We don’t know where our meat comes from on top of the fact that we are all clear that the meat processing places in South Dakota are contaminated. Stick to rice and beans until this thing gets over and we get real inspectors back in processing.
Elíseo García, the answers you seek are to be found within the political party with a death grip on South Dakota’s government. That party, in conjunction with korperate amerika, decide the rules you workers must abide by and you can believe your best interests of health, safety and wages concern them not in the least. Money talks louder to politicians than voter’s or worker’s concerns. And money for rule makers doesn’t come from common folks, at least not in large enough denominations to buy any favors.
Jerry,
USDA inspectors are at the DemKota plant.
See comments at https://www.aberdeennews.com/news/demkota-announces-safety-protocols-after-sioux-falls-plant-outbreak-closure/article_6a92dd76-7db8-11ea-87f5-03af66f9fab0.html
Korey, the official article makes no mention of inspectors; it’s only in the comments. Since I have no idea who she is, I don’t know if what she says is trustworthy.
Self regulation is not a very good idea, but, that is me, or is it?
“The Trump administration is taking steps to overhaul the pork inspection process in a manner it says will maximize efficiency and increase oversight, but federal employees are expressing outrage over plans they say devalue their work and careers and threaten the safety of the American people.
The Agriculture Department issued a final rule in September, completing a process 20 years in the making that will allow pork processing plants to increase the line speed of their slaughter operations and exercise more control over the food safety involving their animals.” https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/03/federal-pork-inspectors-are-sounding-alarm-over-usdas-plan-give-industry-more-control/163527/
The best way to get a response would be to put a bunch of white guys and gals to work in these plants. I know they don’t want to, but it’s a job. Anyway, you put a whole bunch of white faces on those lines and things will straighten out right quick like. No more ignoring the facts, the rubber will meet the road. So come on guys and gals, you want the food supply right? Then get in line for the line. Of course the work is hard and demanding, but show some spine, just like your immigrant forefathers did in the packing plants in the old days. Then you will get the feel of what is actually happening.