GRAND ISLAND – Life at a meatpacking plant isn’t often easy, and the pandemic has made it much harder. As of last Thursday, roughly 15% of Nebraska’s confirmed coronavirus cases and at least three deaths can be traced to meatpacking plants — 1,005 of the state’s 6,771 cases.

In the state, outbreaks have hit Grand Island, Omaha, Crete, Lexington, Madison, Dakota City, and Schuyler, at chicken, beef and pork plants run by meat titans such as Tyson Foods, Smithfield, Cargill, and JBS USA. At least three deaths have been tied to Tyson’s Dakota City beef plant. Approximately 330 people have tested positive at a Crete plant.

Many of the workers are speaking out that they do not blame their employer for the dangerous working conditions, but that the conditions are nonetheless dangerous. Many companies have implemented new safety measures.

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