Virus’s unseen hot zone: The American farm

[Mary Wilson]

Across the country, fruit growers blocked testing of seasonal farmworkers and told those who caught the coronavirus to keep it quiet. County and state officials were largely unable to stop them.

By Laura Reiley and Beth Reinhard
September 24, 2020 at 7:01 PM EDT

In Yakima County, Wash., some fruit orchard owners declined on-site testing of workers by health departments at the height of harvest season even as coronavirus infections spiked. In Monterey, Calif., workers at some farms claimed foremen asked them to hide positive diagnoses from other crew members. And in Collier County, Fla., health officials did not begin widespread testing of farmworkers until the end of harvest, at which point the workers had already migrated northward.
At the height of harvest season, growers supplying some of America’s biggest agricultural companies and grocery store chains flouted public health guidelines to limit testing and obscure coronavirus outbreaks, according to thousands of pages of state and local records reviewed by The Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/09/24/seasonal-farm-workers-coronavirus/?outputType=amp

 

[Mary Wilson]

Ag Groups Call for More Resources to Protect Employees, Communities from Coronavirus

September 24, 2020

Over 160 farm, food and agriculture organizations today sent a letter to the White House Coronavirus Task Force calling for the federal government to take additional steps and devote new resources to help farmers, ranchers and growers across the country protect their employees from the novel coronavirus.

... “With the broad strain on PPE availability, testing, and other resources, however, we ask for your help as we continue to promote the health and safety of our farm employees and rural communities.”

https://www.fb.org/newsroom/ag-grou...ces-to-protect-employees-communities-from-cor