The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) stated, “the number of COVID-19 cases, outbreaks, hospitalizations and deaths associated with meat and poultry processing plants continue to remain very low throughout Virginia.”
In a message on the VDH website, the agency further said as long as there is a community transmission of COVID-19, it is likely there will continue to be occasional cases of the coronavirus in meat and poultry plant workers over time, but for now, the VDH is focusing its COVID-19 response efforts in such plants from supporting outbreak investigations to providing vaccine access to the essential workforce.
Included among the poultry companies with operations in Virginia to host clinics include Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms.
The state has worked with regional health agencies within the state, including The Lord Fairfax Health District, The Central Shenandoah Health District, and The Eastern Shore Health District. The Lord Fairfax agency, since January 2021, has vaccinated at least 405 meat and poultry plant vaccines, while the Central Shenandoah agency hosted 15 vaccination clinics onsite at poultry plants, administering more than 2,770 first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses.
According to VDH, initial cases of COVID-19 associated with meat and poultry processing plants in the state were reported in March 2020, with cases peaking in April and May of that year.
VDH stated that it worked with affected plants to put a variety of interventions in place to reduce transmission, and the most common interventions implemented in the state included:
- Educating employees about the transmission of COVID-19
- Screening employees for signs and symptoms of illness
- Adding hand hygiene stations
- Adding physical barriers between workers where physical distancing was not possible, and
- Requiring universal face coverings
View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
