Major grocery chains limit meat purchases as meatpacking plants continue to be pandemic hotspots

Meatpacking plants are increasingly covid-19 hotspots, prompting some plants to close temporarily for cleaning and re-engineering. The closures have disrupted the food supply chain and prompting major grocers such as Kroger, Costco, and Sam's Club to limit meat purchases

President Trump "attempted to head off disruptions to supply lines last week when he signed an executive order and invoked the 1950 Defense Production Act to declare the plants 'critical infrastructure,' compelling the facilities to remain open during the pandemic," Alex Gangitano reports for The Hill. "The order has not led all closed plants to reopen, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last week that meatpacking plants will reopen in a matter of 'days, not weeks'."

Meanwhile, hundreds of USDA meat inspectors have been exposed to the coronavirus, and three have died of covid-19. "About 145 field employees were absent from work as of April 28 due to covid-19 diagnoses, and another 130 were under self-quarantine due to exposure to the virus," according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service, Josh Carney reports for CBS News.

Meatpacking workers are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic, and it won't be easy for the industry to change, Nusaiba Mizan and Benita Mathew report for the Green Bay Press Gazette.