A Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was visited by representatives from its Chinese Communist Party-tied parent company one month before the first COVID-19 case was confirmed at the facility, according to three employees.
After the first illness was confirmed at the plant on March 26, the facility quickly became the epicenter of the state’s outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wrote in an April 11 letter that 238 plant employees had contracted the virus, accounting for 38 percent of the state’s confirmed cases at the time.
The outbreak has intensified since. More than 518 employees have tested positive for the virus as of April 15, in addition to 126 non-employees who have become infected after coming into contact with a Smithfield employee, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.
Executives from WH Group, Smithfield’s parent company in China, regularly visit the plant, according to two employees. The visit preceding the first confirmed case didn’t include a plant tour and was limited to meetings in a separate building, another employee said. The visit took place roughly a month after President Donald Trump had banned travel from China, where the pandemic originated. All of the employees spoke on condition of anonymity.
Three employees told The Epoch Times that the company offered workers a $500 bonus to keep working after the plant had its first confirmed case. One employee said he or she had informed management multiple times about feeling ill, but was told to keep working. The worker eventually tested positive for COVID-19.
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