Althouse: "South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said during a Saturday news briefing that Smithfield employees accounted for more than half of the active coronavirus cases in the state."

April 13, 2020

"South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said during a Saturday news briefing that Smithfield employees accounted for more than half of the active coronavirus cases in the state."

"About 240 employees are sick, she said, out of roughly 430 active cases in the state. Because of that, she and the mayor of Sioux Falls recommended that Smithfield suspend operations for at least two weeks."

From "One of the largest pork processing facilities in the US is closing until further notice" (CNN Business)("The Sioux Falls, South Dakota, facility accounts for 4% to 5% of the country's pork production and employs about 3,700 people, according to Smithfield").

27 comments:

brylun said...: Isn't Smithfield owned by the ChiComs?; 4/13/20, 4:51 AM
brylun said...: Snopes: Smithfield Foods was sold to a Chinese company in 2013; 4/13/20, 4:52 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: So much for the Frankenstein BatPig experiments.

If pigs had wings etc etc.

I am Laslo.; 4/13/20, 5:01 AM
Darrell said...: Obviously, Chinese management visited the plant. Or employees were flown to China to infect, I mean, train.; 4/13/20, 5:36 AM
tim in vermont said...: I think Darrell has hit it on the nose this time.; 4/13/20, 6:21 AM
Temujin said...: Meat processing plants are starting to close. It could affect the supply lines. Get out your fishing rods.; 4/13/20, 6:58 AM
Marcus Bressler said...: Temujin said...
Meat processing plants are starting to close. It could affect the supply lines. Get out your fishing rods.

Not here in Florida tho. The beaches are closed, so are the piers and the boat ramps are closed to sportsfishermen. Funny thing tho, the ramps and access to the water is available to commercial fishermen and lo and behold, a few scant weeks after the closed the ramps, the $50 fee to apply to be a commercial man showed a major major increase in applications.

THEOLDMAN

The authorities are not amused. They say those who took out the commercial license and use it as a ruse to go out pleasure boating will be dealt with. Interesting options there.; 4/13/20, 7:18 AM
Ryan said...: Meanwhile, there is a glut of vegetables. Maybe less pork is a good thing, you fat asses.; 4/13/20, 7:57 AM
Ryan said...: It's also disconcerting and not good for national security that one plant provides 5% of our pork.

Also, imagine the smell. I was in rural NC recently, in the town of Clinton. There is a decent sized pork processing plant there and it smells horrible. Of course, the locals don't notice it. "Smells like money."; 4/13/20, 8:13 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Don't get around much Ryan? Stay home, the "locals" won't mind! Is that manure on your arugula?; 4/13/20, 8:22 AM
Ryan said...: In California, Native Americans ate a lot of acorns and insects. For example, a tribe mear Mono lake would harverst baskets of alkali fly larvae. Apparently quite tasty. Koreans all over the world eat silkworm larvae.; 4/13/20, 8:24 AM
Kevin said...: Some find ironic what others see plain as day.; 4/13/20, 8:25 AM
Jeff said...: Closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. If 240 plant workers are sick, then at least 500 currently have the virus, since 50 percent are asymptomatic. And that's not counting the people who've already recovered from their infections. But even if you only count 500 infected out of 3700, that's already 1 out of 7 people there infected. It's pretty likely that by now, just about everyone who works there has been exposed and is either recovered, infected, still incubating, or naturally immune.; 4/13/20, 8:27 AM
Kevin said...: I think Darrell has hit it on the nose this time.

On the snout, as it were.; 4/13/20, 8:27 AM
TwoAndAHalfCents said...: Q. How is that Smithfield plant like the CARES Act?
A. Both distribute lots of pork; 4/13/20, 8:32 AM
Ryan said...: Believe me, I prefer to stay home. However, sometimes one is obligated to travel, to satisfy work or familial duties. I am rather enjoying this respite. I am supposed to be in Germany right now. Imagine the smell.; 4/13/20, 8:41 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Humans are especially cruel to pigs. They taste good, but we don't give them any respect.; 4/13/20, 8:57 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: "Anosmia is the partial or complete loss of the sense of smell. This loss may be temporary or permanent. Common conditions that irritate the nose’s lining, such as allergies or a cold, can lead to temporary anosmia. More serious conditions that affect the brain or nerves, such as brain tumors or head trauma, can cause permanent loss of smell."; 4/13/20, 9:03 AM
Birkel said...: I see we have a new contestant for the "Quit Being an Ass Hole" weekly prize.

At this point Ryan will need to up his game considerably.
He's in second place and neither ARM nor Ritmo has made an effort.; 4/13/20, 9:12 AM
JAORE said...: I will NOT social distance from bacon.; 4/13/20, 9:17 AM
chickelit said...: Is the nation's bacon supply at risk?; 4/13/20, 9:33 AM
GingerBeer said...: Some good news for a change: The US has a National Bacon Reserve, and it's stocked at a 50 year high.

https://www.porkbusiness.com/article/brimming-bacon-us-stock-largest-seen-48-years; 4/13/20, 9:39 AM
mockturtle said...: Time to keep kosher! ;-); 4/13/20, 9:42 AM
hombre said...: Did CNN forget to mention that Smithfield is a wholly owned subsidiary of the WH Group in China?; 4/13/20, 10:48 AM
Skippy Tisdale said...: "Some good news for a change: The US has a National Bacon Reserve, and it's stocked at a 50 year high."

I work for a multibillion dollar utility. Smithfield is a customer. I have to wonder how much the plunge in pork prices influenced their decission to close.; 4/13/20, 1:26 PM
NMObjectivist said...: Always cook pork thoroughly. Now more than ever.; 4/13/20, 2:44 PM
Susan said...: Kristi Noem has today announced that the state would be conducting a statewide trial of Hydroxychloroquine.

We'll see how that comes out.; 4/13/20, 2:45 PM