Texas has 785 new virus cases, 31 more deaths as meatpacking industry fuels outbreak

DALLAS, Texas — Another 785 Texas residents have tested positive for Covid-19 and there have been 31 more deaths linked to the novel coronavirus, according to the state’s health agency.

On Sunday, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported a total of 47,784 confirmed cases of the virus and 1,336 deaths associated with it. The true numbers are likely higher because many people have not been tested and studies show people can be infected and not feel sick.

Just a day prior, Texas had its highest single-day increase in new cases. The Lone Star State, one of the first to start reopening, had reported an increase of 1,801 cases on Saturday.

The Texas Panhandle, where a workforce of Hispanics and immigrants power several meatpacking plants in the Amarillo area, is home to the highest rates of infection in the state. In a press release over the weekend, the Texas governor’s office indicated plants with widespread outbreaks have temporarily shut down for thorough disinfection.

At a Tyson Foods plant just outside of Amarillo, all 3,587 employees were tested, according to High Plains Public Radio. The plant is “undergoing additional sanitation and cleaning” during the weekend and plans to operate on Monday, according to the company.

Across the country, the coronavirus has spread easily in meatpacking plants, where workers typically stand shoulder to shoulder on fast-moving butchering lines. The processing plants, including those in Texas, have scrambled to ramp up health and safety precautions, providing masks and eye protection to workers and placing plastic dividers in some areas.

Workers at a JBS Beef plant in Moore County, which has seen multiple cases and at least one death, have told The Texas Tribune that plant management was slow to acknowledge when workers began testing positive, and those who came in contact with the sick were not always informed of their exposure.

Moore County, which is located just north of Amarillo, has the highest rate of virus cases per 1,000 residents in Texas.

For some people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in a few weeks. For others, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.