A MEATPACKING worker who was allegedly told not to wear a face mask on the job has died of coronavirus.
Rafael Benjamin, who worked at Cargill Inc.’s pork and beef processing plant in Pennsylvania, told his children on March 27 that a supervisor told him to remove his face mask while on the job.
The 64-year-old said he was instructed to do so because it was causing unnecessary anxiety among the other employees, according to Bloomberg News.
On April 4, Benjamin called out sick with a cough and fever, and days later, he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.
He spent his 17th work anniversary with Cargill hooked up to a ventilator in the intensive care unit and died on April 19.
Cargill closed the plant in Hazelton to disinfect it and add protective barriers during Benjamin’s hospital stay.
But the plant reopened the day after his death.
Three other workers at the plant told Bloomberg News they heard supervisors say masks were prohibited for various reasons.
The reasons included that only sick people should have them, that health professionals need them more, and that wearing them incites fear in the workplace, Bloomberg reported.
At least 10 employees told the news outlet that they supervisors and staff nurses sent them back to work even after they reported being sick.
Workers at the plant are now reportedly wearing masks and having their temperatures taken twice a day.
Cargill, Inc. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Sun.
Cargill spokesman Dan Sullivan told Bloomberg News that the company has made it “very clear” to employees to stay home if they’re feeling sick or have been exposed to COVID-19 patients.
“Cargill has made it ‘very clear’ to employees not to come to work if they’re sick or have had contact with COVID-19 patients,” he said.
“The company isn’t penalizing unexcused absences and is offering up to 80 hours of paid leave to employees who miss work because of COVID-19 impacts.”
The Hazelton plant’s manager Aaron Humes said he can’t confirm if Benjamin or anyone else was told not to wear a mask. “I don’t know who would have told him that,” he said.
Humes added that the plant followed safety directives from Cargill, which were based on CDC guidance.
Despite Hazleton logging just a dozen confirmed coronavirus cases in late March, the town has quickly became a virus hotspot.
More than 1,200 residents have tested positive, and Mayor Jeff Cusat told WNEP Thursday that more than 60 percent of COVID-19 tests had come back positive.
The meatpacking industry hit a grim milestone on Wednesday as coronavirus cases tied out outbreaks at plants passed 10,000, according to USA Today.
As meatpacking plants around the country become virus hotspots, Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar downplayed public health concerns inside the factories.
On an April 28 call about the pandemic, Azar said he believed infected workers were bringing the virus into processing plants, according to three participants who spoke with Politico on Thursday.
He attributed the infections to the “home and social” aspects of employees’ lives rather than the conditions inside the facilities.
Azar suggested sending more law enforcement to workers’ communities to better enforce social distancing rules, according to two lawmakers on the call.
The suggestion alarmed Republicans and Democrats on the call, who interpreted from his remarks that workers are responsible for the outbreak.
“He was essentially turning it around, blaming the victim and implying that their lifestyle is the problem,” said New Hampshire Rep Ann Kuster.
“Law enforcement is not going to solve the problem. It was so far off base.”
