Name: IDPH shares staggering numbers in Tyson COVID-19 outbreaks
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IDPH shares staggering numbers in Tyson COVID-19 outbreaks

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AdvertisementIDPH shares staggering numbers in Tyson COVID-19 outbreaksHide TranscriptShow TranscriptSTEVE: FIRST AT 5:00. IOWA MANUFACTURING IS BEING CRIPPLED BY THE CORONAVIRUS. THE STATE REVEALED THE DETAILS OF OUTBREAKS TODAY AT 5 DIFFERENT PLANTS. KCCI’S CHRIS GOTHNER IS LIVE AT THE STATEHOUSE WITH THE STAGGERING TOTAL CHRIS: STEVE, THE BIGGEST OUTBREAK BY FAR IS RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL IOWA AFTER WEEKS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRUE SCOPE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAKS AT IOWA’S MEATPACKING AND MANUFACTURING PLANTS, THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH GAVE OUT NUMBERS TUESDAY. THE MOST STUNNING TOTALS COME FROM PERRY, WHERE TYSON FOODS HAD STEADFASTLY REFUSED TO RELEASE INFECTION NUMBERS SINCE CONFIRMING AN OUTBREAK IN MID-APRI OFFICIALS SAY 730 EMPLOYEES TESTED POSITIVE, REPRESENTING MORE THAN HALF OF THE PLANT’S ROUGHLY 1300 WORKERS. BY FAR THE LARGEST OUTBREAK AT ANY FACILITY. TWO OTHER TYSON PLANTS MET STATE CRITERIA FOR RELEASING DATA. TYSO PLANT IN WATERLOO, WITH 444 POSITIVE CASES, MAKING UP 17% OF EMPLOYEES TESTE TYSON IN COLUMBUS JUNCTION HAD 221 POSITIVE CASES, COMPRISING 26% OF TESTED EMPLOYEES. AS FOR OTHER COMPANIES, IOWA PREMIUM NATIONAL BEEF IN TAMA HAD 258 POSITIVES, MAKING UP MORE THAN A THIRD OF TESTED WORKERS. TPI IN NEWTON HAD 131 POSITIVES, MAKING UP 13%. &gt;&gt; WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE THESE EMPLOYERS WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH TO OFFER TESTING TO EMPLOYEES. IDENTIFICATION AND ISOLATION OF ILL EMPLOYEES HELPS PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. CHRIS: THE STATE’S THRESHOLD FOR RELEASING DATA WAS EITHER 10% OF ABSENTEEISM OR HAVING CONFIRMED CASES. AHEAD AT 6:00 WE’LL HEAR FROM , THE IOWA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COUNCIL, WHO SAID THE INFORMATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN RELEASED MUCH SOONER. LIVE AT THE STATEHOUSE, CHRIS GOTHNER KCCI 8 NEWS IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. STACEY: TODAY’S ANNOUNCEME ABOUT THE NUMBER OF OUTBREAKS THE TYSON PLANT IN PERRY HAS SHAKEN THE CENTRAL IOWA COMMUNITY. KCCI’S MARCUS MCINTOSH IS LIVE IN PERRY TONIGHT TO FIND OUT WHY THOSE NUMBERS HAVEN’T BEEN REPORTED UNTIL THIS MORNING. MARCUS: STACEY, THE ANSWER TO THAT IS SIMPLE. WERE TOLD OF THE CITY ATTORNEY AND THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT THAT THEY LEARNED OF THE NUMBER OF POSITIVE TESTS AT TYSON IN PERRY THIS BY WATCHING THE GOVERNORS PRESS CONFERENCE &gt;&gt; THE TYSON PLANT IN PERRY HAS 730 -- POSITIVE CASES. ARCUS THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT MORE : THAN 50% OF PEOPLE WORKING AT THE TYSON PLANT IN PERRY TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID 19. WAS NOT WHAT PERRY CITY LEADERS EXPECTED TO HEAR. &gt;&gt; I WAS SURPRISED A LITTLE BIT. I KNEW WE WOULD HAVE QUITE A FEW POSITIVE CASES OUT AT THE PLANT. I WAS MORE SURPRISED IT WAS THAT HIGH AND WE WERE LEARNING ABOUT IT TODAY. MARCUS THE DALLAS COUNTY HEALTH : DEPARTMENT TOLD US LAST MONTH THEY HAD THE NUMBERS, BUT WOULD ONLY RELEASE THOSE TO THE PUBLIC IF 10% OF THE TYSON PLANT WAS INFECTED. NOW, THE COUNTY SAYS THEY WEREN’T AWARE OF THE NUMBER OF CASES UNTIL TUESDAY TELLING US THEY GET ONLY CERTAIN INFORMATION FROM THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH. &gt;&gt; WHEN WE GET CONTACT TRACING INFORMATION ON PEOPLE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO INVESTIGATE FOR AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE IT IS ONLY , THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE RESIDENTS OF OUR COUNTY. MARCUS THE NUMBER OF POSITIVE : COVID 19 CASES AT THE PERRY TYSON PLANT IS CONCERNEING FOR THE CITY AND THE COUNTY. AND THEY WILL WORK TOGETHER TO SLOW THE SPREAD. BUT THERE ARE STILL QUESTIONS. &gt;&gt; I DON’T KNOW WHY IT TOOK 10 DAYS TO GATHER THAT INFORMATION AND RELEASE IT ONCE IT WAS THAT HIGH. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW SOONER. MARCUS WE RECEIVED AN EMAIL : RESPONSE FROM TYSON CONCERNING THE NUMBER OF POSITIVES AT THE PERRY PLANT. IT READS IN PART. "ANY EMPLOYEE WHO HAS TESTED POSITIVE WILL REMAIN ON SICK LEAVE UNTIL THEY ARE RELEASED BY HEALTH OFFICIALS TO RETURN TO WORK. WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ENHANCED SAFETY PROTOCOLS TO HELP ENSURE OUR EFFORTS MEET OR EXCE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL GUIDELINES." TONIGHT AT 6:00 WE TALK WITH , SOMEONE WHO WORKS AT THE TYSON PLANT IN PERRY, MMK8NINL. -- MARCUS MCINTOSH, KCCI 8 NEWS, IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. STACEY: KCCI FIRST STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NUMBER OF CASES AT THE PERRY PLANT LAST MONTH. WE’VE BEEN INVESTIGATING SINCE WE LEARNED ABOUT THE FIRST COVID-19 CASE THERE BACK ON APRIL 11 WE MADE REPEATED CALLS TO TYSON, THE DALLAS COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND REQUESTED OSHA RECORDS. BUT NO ONE WOULD GIVE USAdvertisementIDPH shares staggering numbers in Tyson COVID-19 outbreaksThe Iowa Department of Public Health shared case numbers Tuesday from COVID-19 outbreaks from some of Iowa’s largest employers in meatpacking and manufacturing.According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, COVID-19 outbreaks are confirmed at the following facilities:•Tyson plant in Perry had 730 positive cases, which represents 58% of the employees tested•The Tyson plant in Waterloo had 444 positive cases, which represents 17% of the employees tested•Iowa Premium National beef in Tama had identified 258 positive cases, which represents 39% of the employees tested•The Tyson plant in Columbus Junction identified 221 positive cases, which represents 26% of the employees tested•TPI Composites in Newton had 131 positive cases, which represents 13% of its employees testedThe state's criteria for releasing the date was when 10% of the workforce being absent or having confirmed cases.Tyson Fresh Meats in Perry steadfastly refused to release its infection numbers since confirming an outbreak in mid-April.The 730 positive cases represent more than half of the plant’s workers.Officials with the City of Perry and the Dallas County Health Department told KCCI Tuesday that they learned of the number of positive tests at Tyson’s Perry plant by watching Gov. Kim Reynolds’ news conference.“I was a surprised a little bit,” said Sven Peterson, Perry's city administrator. “I knew we would have quite a few positive cases out of the plant. I was more surprised it was higher, and we were learning about it today.”The Dallas County Health Department told KCCI in April that it had the numbers but would only release those to the public if 10% of the Tyson Plant was infected. Tuesday, the county said it was not aware of the Tyson plant’s 730 cases and that it only gets certain information from the Iowa Department of Public Health.Tyson said in an email to KCCI, "Any employee who has tested positive will remain on sick leave until they are released by health officials to return to work. "We have implemented enhanced safety protocols to help ensure our efforts meet or exceed local, state and federal guidelines."The Iowa Department of Public Health shared case numbers Tuesday from COVID-19 outbreaks from some of Iowa’s largest employers in meatpacking and manufacturing.According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, COVID-19 outbreaks are confirmed at the following facilities:Advertisement•Tyson plant in Perry had 730 positive cases, which represents 58% of the employees tested•The Tyson plant in Waterloo had 444 positive cases, which represents 17% of the employees tested•Iowa Premium National beef in Tama had identified 258 positive cases, which represents 39% of the employees tested•The Tyson plant in Columbus Junction identified 221 positive cases, which represents 26% of the employees tested•TPI Composites in Newton had 131 positive cases, which represents 13% of its employees testedThe state's criteria for releasing the date was when 10% of the workforce being absent or having confirmed cases.Tyson Fresh Meats in Perry steadfastly refused to release its infection numbers since confirming an outbreak in mid-April.The 730 positive cases represent more than half of the plant’s workers.Officials with the City of Perry and the Dallas County Health Department told KCCI Tuesday that they learned of the number of positive tests at Tyson’s Perry plant by watching Gov. Kim Reynolds’ news conference.“I was a surprised a little bit,” said Sven Peterson, Perry's city administrator. “I knew we would have quite a few positive cases out of the plant. I was more surprised it was higher, and we were learning about it today.”The Dallas County Health Department told KCCI in April that it had the numbers but would only release those to the public if 10% of the Tyson Plant was infected. Tuesday, the county said it was not aware of the Tyson plant’s 730 cases and that it only gets certain information from the Iowa Department of Public Health.Tyson said in an email to KCCI, "Any employee who has tested positive will remain on sick leave until they are released by health officials to return to work. "We have implemented enhanced safety protocols to help ensure our efforts meet or exceed local, state and federal guidelines."Loading more articles...

AdvertisementIDPH shares staggering numbers in Tyson COVID-19 outbreaksHide TranscriptShow TranscriptSTEVE: FIRST AT 5:00. IOWA MANUFACTURING IS BEING CRIPPLED BY THE CORONAVIRUS. THE STATE REVEALED THE DETAILS OF OUTBREAKS TODAY AT 5 DIFFERENT PLANTS. KCCI’S CHRIS GOTHNER IS LIVE AT THE STATEHOUSE WITH THE STAGGERING TOTAL CHRIS: STEVE, THE BIGGEST OUTBREAK BY FAR IS RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL IOWA AFTER WEEKS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRUE SCOPE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAKS AT IOWA’S MEATPACKING AND MANUFACTURING PLANTS, THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH GAVE OUT NUMBERS TUESDAY. THE MOST STUNNING...

IDPH shares staggering numbers in Tyson COVID-19 outbreaks

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