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Chick-News.com Poultry Industry News, Comments and more by Simon M. Shane

COVID-19 May Slow Home Delivery of Groceries and Food

04/14/2020

With home confinement impacting 95 percent of the U.S. population, delivery services offered by Amazon Prime and Walmart among others and food delivery by gig workers have replaced frequent visits to supermarkets and restaurants.  To date the frequency of deliveries and reliability has softened the restrictions followed by compliant citizens.

 

As the U.S. apparently reaches a peak in incident cases through mid-April, reports of outbreaks of COVID in distribution and fulfillment centers and among delivery workers are surfacing. Wired recently reported on extremely variable compliance with widely publicized CDC guidance to limit infection in the workplace.  Recent articles in the media indicate neglect of separation, failure to screen workers for elevated temperature or signs of infection and failure to provide protective clothing, masks and facilities to decontaminate hands.

 

If COVID-19 spreads among workers in distribution and fulfillment centers and if food delivery workers become infected the Nation's supply of food will be affected. At present, red meat and poultry plants are functioning at less than capacity due to labor shortages. Some companies have closed plants with threats that supplies of meat might be imperiled.  Unfortunately, many workers in food production, processing and distribution have little in the way of financial reserves and feel obliged to clock-in even if they feel ill thereby compromising the health of coworkers.  In addition, it is now well established that individuals can be asymptomatic shedders of SARS-CoV-2 virus further contributing to infection in work situations where close contact is required.

 

Until a safe and effective vaccine is deployed, employers are obliged to implement as many of the CDC recommendations as are applicable to suppress infection. This applies to Mom and Pop stores as well as the World’s leading companies such as Walmart and Amazon.


 
Copyright © 2024 Simon M. Shane