COVID-19 taking out meat packing plants

Health officials have linked more than 180 COVID-19 infections to Tyson Foods’ largest pork processing plant. The company suspended operations at the plant in Waterloo, Iowa, on Wednesday and will begin testing its 2,800 workers on Friday. It’s the latest of several meat processing plants to close due to outbreaks of the coronavirus.

What does this mean for the nation’s food supply? Consumers shouldn’t see immediate shortages or price hikes, but the closure also shuts down a vital market for hog farmers. The plant can process almost 20,000 hogs per day and accounts for about 4 percent of the country’s pork. It already was running at reduced capacity as many workers stayed home to avoid contracting the disease. Companies are trying to take extra precautions and keep plants open, but social distancing is difficult to maintain in the crowded slaughterhouses.

Dig deeper: Read Daniel James Devine’s report on the pandemic’s potential long-term effects on the U.S. supply chain.