May 12, 2020

As Trump urges reopening, thousands getting sick on the job

Posted May 12, 2020 2:33 PM

NEW YORK (AP) — Even as President Donald Trump urges getting people back to work and reopening the economy, an Associated Press analysis shows thousands of people are getting sick from COVID-19 on the job.

That surge of infections in food-processing plants as well as at construction sites and elsewhere underscores the high stakes for communities as they gradually loosen restrictions on business.

Even the White House has proven vulnerable, with positive coronavirus tests for one of President Donald Trump’s valets and for Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary.

Of the 15 counties with the highest per-capita rates of new infections most are homes to meatpacking and poultry-processing plants.