CRETE- The number of COVID-19 cases associated with Nebraska meatpacking plants continues to rise, and at least one of them had been rumored to close. Pat Lopez, interim director of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, said Monday afternoon that the Smithfield plant in Crete would close this week. Employees of the plant also told the Journal Star that it would close as early as Wednesday.

A Smithfield spokeswoman would not confirm the shutdown, saying in an email Monday: "The company will make an announcement if there are material changes to its operations."

However on Tuesday in an email to employees Smithfield announced a reduced working schedule of half days for some employees starting Thursday. About 50 workers Tuesday staged a brief, impromptu walkout after company officials announced the plant would remain open.

The walkout wasn't union-sanctioned, and the workers eventually went back into the plant to discuss their concerns with managers. But a local union representative said it highlights the stress many workers are feeling as they work “elbow-to-elbow, shoulder-to-shoulder” cutting and packaging meat.

“They're scared,” Eric Reeder, president of the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 293, which represents meatpacking throughout the state, told the Associated Press. “They want the company to be more transparent.”

Saline County now has 87 confirmed cases of the disease, at least 47 of which are directly linked to the Smithfield plant in Crete, according to the Public Health Solutions Health District. There is at least one case in Lincoln that's also linked to the plant. Less than a week ago, there were 17 cases reported in Saline County and nine linked to the plant.

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