HUNDREDS OF CASES THERE. AT LEAST THAT ONE CORONAVIRUS
LOCUS, THAT ONE PLANT, IS CLOSED
TODAY BUT I HAVE TO TELL YOU IN
NEIGHBORS NEBRASKA, IT’S A
DIFFERENT STORY, AT LEAST EIGHT
MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS IN
NEBRASKA HAVE CONFIRMED
CORONAVIRUS CASES INCLUDING ONE,
REALLY, REALLY BIG OUTBREAK, AT
LEAST 237 CASES OF CORONAVIRUS
NOW TIED TO ONE BEEF PLANT IN
GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA.
GRAND ISLAND IS THE THIRD
LARGEST CITY IN NEBRASKA.
THE CASES TIED TO THAT ONE BEEF
PLANT IN GRAND ISLAND ACCOUNT
FOR MORE THAN 40% OF ALL OF THE
CASES IN THAT AREA.
BUT NEITHER THAT PLANT IN GRAND
ISLAND, NOR ANY OF THE OTHER
NEBRASKA MEAT PACKING PLANTS
WITH CASES HAS BEEN CLOSED.
AND NEBRASKA REMAINS ONE OF THE
FEW STATES IN THE COUNTRY
WITHOUT ANY KOOIT KIND OF
STAY-AT-HOME ORDER.
STAY-AT-HOME ORDER. IN RECENT DAYS THE RATE OF
CORONAVIRUS CASES AROUND GRAND
ISLAND NEBRASKA HAS BEEN HIGHER
THAN SOME OF THE HARDEST HIT
STATES IN THE COUNTRY, HIGHER
THAN MICHIGAN, CLOSER TO
LOUISIANA, THERE ARE MORE THAN
600 CONFIRMED CASES AND 18
DEATHS IN THE GRAND ISLAND
NEBRASKA AREA.
NEBRASKA AREA. INCLUDING FOUR DEATHS REPORTED
JUST IN THE PAST DAY.
GRAND ISLAND’S MAYOR, AND THE
LOCAL HEALTH DIRECTOR, HAVE BEEN
ASKING NEBRASKA’S GOVERNOR, PETE
RICKETTS FOR A STAY-AT-HOME
ORDER, BUT HE HAS REFUSED.
THE LOCAL HEALTH DIRECTOR HAS
WARNED THAT THE HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM AROUND GRAND ISLAND IS
VERY CLOSE TO BEING SWAMPED.
SHE SAID TWO DAYS AGO, QUOTE, WE
ARE GOING INTO A RATHER DARK
COUPLE OF WEEKS.
JOINING US NOW IS THAT HEALTH
DIRECTOR, TERESA ANDERSON, IS
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR
FOR NEBRASKA’S CENTRAL DISTRICT,
THE CENTRAL DISTRICT IS RIGHT IN
THE MIDDLE OF THAT STATE, ABOUT
A TWO HOUR DRIVE AWAY FROM
OMAHA, MS. ANDERSON, THANK YOU
SO MUCH FOR MAKING HOME FOR US
TONIGHT, I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT
TO DEAL WITH, AND IT IS A VERY
BUSY TIME.
BUSY TIME. >> THANK YOU, RACHEL, FOR HAVING
ME.
ME. >> FIRST, LET ME JUST ASK FIRST,
IF I CHARACTERIZED THINGS
ACCURATELY AS FAR AS YOU KNOW
AND IF THERE IS ANY OTHER
IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE
SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IN TERMS OF
THIS, WHAT APPEARS TO BE A
PRETTY SIZABLE OUTBREAK IN AND
AROUND GRAND ISLAND.
>> THE GROUT BREAK IS ASSOCIATED
IN SOME DEGREE TO THE PATE
PACKING INDUSTRY BUT THERE ARE A
LOT OF FACTORS THAT GO INTO
DETERMINING HOW SEVERE THE
OUTBREAK IS.
OUTBREAK IS. >> WE’RE GETTING A SORT OF ECHO
EFFECT ON YOUR AUDIO.
I’M NOT SURE IF THERE IS
ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO ADJUST
THAT.
THAT. I KNOW IT’S TECHNICALLY, THIS IS
ALWAYS, THIS IS ALWAYS A
CHALLENGE TO DO THESE THINGS.
I CAN HEAR YOU THOUGH.
LET ME JUST ASK YOU, IT SEEMS
LIKE THAT MIGHT BE BETTER.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. GOOD.
GOOD. >> GREAT, ALL RIGHT.
LET ME JUST ASK YOU, IT HAS BEEN
UNUSUAL, I THINK, I EXPECTED
WATCHING THIS FROM AFAR, THAT
SOME OF THE FACILITIES WHERE
THERE’S BEEN A LARGE NUMBER OF
CASES ASSOCIATED WITH AN
INDIVIDUAL WORKPLACE, THAT THOSE
MIGHT HAVE BEEN CLOSED, BUT AS
FAR AS I UNDERSTAND IT, NO MEAT
PACKING PLANTS IN NEBRASKA HAVE
BEEN CLOSED, INCLUDING THIS ONE
IN GRAND ISLAND WHERE THERE ARE
A LARGE NUMBER OF CASES.
>> SO THE WAY THAT IT’S BEEN
EVOLVING, IS THAT OUR PLANT HERE
IN GRAND ISLAND HAS BEEN, I’M
GOING TO SAY AHEAD OF THE GAME,
AT LEAST TIME-WISE, IN THE
NUMBER OF CASES, AND I’LL GIVE
YOU AN EXAMPLE, LAST WEEK, WE
HAD 360 CASES, IN OUR THREE
COUNTY AREA, AND THIS WEEK, WE
HAVE 630, A WEEK LATER.
SO THE SPREAD IS WITHIN THE
COMMUNITY, AND WE HAVE KNOWN FOR
A WHILE THAT IT’S BEEN
COMMUNITY-WIDE.
COMMUNITY-WIDE. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE MEAT PACKING
INDUSTRY, AND YOU WELL KNOW
THIS, THAT THERE ARE CLOSE
QUARTER, PEOPLE ARE WORKING
ELBOW TO ELBOW, THEY’RE CHANGING
OUT INTO THEIR WORK GEAR, IN THE
SAME LOCKER ROOM, AND SO THERE
ARE LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY FORCE
THE SPREAD OF VIRUS.
CERTAINLY, THAT WAS THE CASE A
FEW WEEKS AGO.
THE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN TAKING
SOME MEASURES TO IMPROVE THE
DISTANCING, AND THE POTENTIAL
FOR THE SPREAD OF VIRUS.
ALL ACROSS THE STATE.
AND MOST RECENTLY, THE HHS HAS
HAD SOME TEAMS OUT LOOKING AT
AND ADVISING THE DIFFERENT
PLANTS AND WHAT THEY MIGHT DO TO
BETTER REDUCE THE SPREAD OR THE
POTENTIAL FOR THE SPREAD.
I WAS WATCHING WHAT YOU WERE
SAYING A FEW MINUTES AGO, AND IN
OUR INSTANCE, IT MAY BE THAT THE
CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG, SO TO
SPEAK.
SPEAK. WE’VE GOT WIDE SPREAD VIRUS, AND
AT THIS POINT, CLOSING THE PLANT
MAY BE HELPFUL TO US, I
CERTAINLY THINK IT WOULDN’T HURT
BUT WE’VE GOT SPREAD EVERYWHERE,
LITERALLY WHEN WE DO OUR CONTACT
TRACING, WE KNOW THAT WHILE MANY
OF THEM ARE RELATED TO JDS IN
SOME FASHION, WHETHER THE PERSON
WORKED THERE OR THEIR SPOUSE
WORKED THERE, THEY WERE WLZ
EXPERIENCING OTHER TYPES OF
OUTBREAKS ESPECIALLY ALONG OUR
LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES, WHICH
OF COURSE IS VERY CONCERNING TO
US.
US. >> IN TERMS OF THAT SPREAD BEING
EVERYWHERE, INCLUDING, AS YOU
SAID LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES,
WHERE IT’S SO DANGEROUS, NOW
THAT YOU’RE SEEING THE NUMBERS
THAT YOU ARE, AND YOU’VE GOT THE
AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY
TRANSMISSION, IT SEEMS THAT YOU
HAVE, I’M WORRIED ABOUT YOUR
HOSPITAL CAPACITY.
HOSPITAL CAPACITY. CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT
THE NUMBER OF FACILITIES WHO ARE
ABLE TO TREAT PEOPLE WHO ARE
VERY ILL, WITH COVID-19
SYMPTOMS, AND TELL US IF YOU’RE
WORRIED ABOUT INTENSIVE CARE
CAPACITY, AND EVEN POTENTIALLY
VENTILATORS.
VENTILATORS. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET OUT
INTO THE RURAL PART OF THE
COUNTRY, IS YOU WILL FIND THAT
SOME OF THE RURAL HOSPITALS ARE
CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITAL, AND
THEREFORE, THEY HAVE NO REVERSE
AIRFLOW ROOMS.
AIRFLOW ROOMS. AND THEY HAVE NO ABILITY TO CARE
FOR COVID PATIENTS WHILE
PROTECTING STAFF.
PROTECTING STAFF. SO IN OUR PARTICULAR DISTRICT,
WE HAVE TWO OF THOSE COMMUNITY
ACCESS HOSPITALS AND WE ALSO
HAVE ONE HOSPITAL THAT A LARGER
HOSPITAL THAT HAS CAPACITY RIGHT
NOW WITH 17 VENTILATORS.
SO WHAT HAPPENS, WITH THIS RURAL
PART OF THE STATE, AGAIN, IS
THAT WE HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF
STAFF, SO EVEN WHEN WE’RE ABLE
TO BRING IN VENTILATORS, FROM
NEIGHBORING, OR FROM SOME
DISTANCE, TO FACILITATE THE
PROCESS, THE STAFF ISN’T THERE,
AND I AM AN OLD ICU NURSE FROM
THE OLD DAYS AND I REALIZE HOW
TECHNICAL THE CARE IS FOR A
PATIENT ON A VENTILATOR.
AND THOSE, THE FOLKS THAT NEED
TO BE BROUGHT IN ARE GOING TO BE
HIGHLY SKILLED INDIVIDUALS SO WE
HAVE THE CHALLENGE OF BRINGING
IN FOLKS INTO AN AREA THAT IS
FAIRLY ACTIVE WITH COVID, AND
THEN ASKING THEM TO WORK IN OUR
FACILITY KNOWING THAT IN OUR
COMMUNITY, THERE’S WIDESPREAD.
>> TERESA ANDERSON, NEBRASKA’S
CENTRAL DISTRICT HEALTH
DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR WHO HAS A
BEAR OF AN EPIDEMIC THERE TO BE
DEALING WITH IN THAT RURAL PART
OF NEBRASKA, THANK YOU FOR
TALKING PUBLICLY THE WAY THAT
YOU HAVE, TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE
THE SERIOUSNESS OF WHAT YOU’RE
FACING IN GRAND ISLAND, THANKS
FOR HELPING US UNDERSTAND IT ON
A NATIONAL LEVEL, AND PLEASE
KEEP US APPRISED OF THIS GOING
AHEAD, I AM WORRIED THAT YOU ARE
IN FOR A FEW WEEKS OF VERY DARK