Gov. Jared Polis on Friday said he believes Colorado can still shut down meatpacking plants where there are outbreaks of the new coronavirus, even after an order from President Donald Trump mandating that they stay open.
“If they need to be closed again, we are confident that we have the tools to be able to do that,” Polis told reporters on Friday.
The governor said last week that he wouldn’t let Trump’s order put Colorado workers’ health at risk and that he was going through Trump’s order with a fine-toothed comb. The result of that review, Polis said, is that he believes he still has the ability to regulate the facilities where animals are slaughtered and prepared for sale.
“We found that we really do still have the ability with the county health department and the state health department to be able to have health orders to help keep the workers safe at a facility like JBS if needed,” Polis said. “That authority has not been taken from us.”
Polis was referencing the JBS beef plant in Greeley, where an outbreak of coronavirus has sickened 280 workers and killed at least seven. About 2,500 people work at the facility.
The plant closed down for about 10 days last month because of the outbreak and drew attention from the White House because of the closure’s impact on the national food supply chain combined with other facilities’ shutdowns.
Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, which represents workers at the JBS plant, said Trump’s order “will only ensure that more workers get sick, jeopardizing lives, family’s income, communities, and of course, the country’s food supply chain.”
There have been outbreaks of the disease at four other Colorado meatpacking plants as well:
Sixty workers have confirmed or probable coronavirus infections at the Cargill Meat Solutions facility in Fort Morgan. At least one worker has died.Nineteen workers have tested positive for the virus at a Denver processing facility owned by Empire Packing Co. Eighteen workers have tested positive for the virus at the Rocky Mountain Natural Meats, which processes bison in Adams County.Eight workers have tested positive for the virus at the Mountain States Rosen Co., a producer-owned lamb processing plant in Weld County.<URL destination="https://coloradosun.com/2020/05/08/colorado-meatpacking-plants-closure-jared-polis-trump/">Read more at The Colorado Sun.