Thousands of U.S. workers in meat processing plants have been infected with the coronavirus, and at least 20 have died, new data from the federal government shows.
According to U.S. News & World Report, in 17 states that provided data on how many workers were employed at affected facilities, 3% of more than 130,000 workers were diagnosed with COVID-19, researchers found.
The total number of infections is likely an undercount, as the report notes some states with industry-related COVID-19 cases did not share their data.
More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed in recent weeks as concerns mounted over infected workers.
