Southern Delaware councilman: Testing chicken plant workers for COVID-19 a 'dumb idea'

Sussex County officials on Tuesday said they expect the number of coronavirus cases to continue to rise as more poultry plant workers are tested – an effort one elected official has dubbed “a dumb idea.”

Sussex County Councilman Sam Wilson said he thinks the increase in testing at poultry plants will hurt staffing levels and could mean those facilities have to close. It’s already meant that millions of chickens must be killed, he said.

“Where did the governor get the bright idea to ... test the poultry workers?” Wilson asked during council’s teleconference meeting on Tuesday. “They’re losing millions of dollars because of this dumb idea.”

Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson defended Gov. John Carney and public health officials’ decision to increase testing at local chicken plants, which have been pinpointed by state officials as hot spots that have led to community spread and spikes in positive cases.

“This is a day-to-day situation that continues to evolve,” Lawson said at the beginning of council’s weekly meeting on Tuesday. “I don’t think we have seen the end at all.”

He told Wilson that Carney and others are following the guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state medical staff.

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Wilson said that increasing testing – and finding more positive cases – could send a signal to other workers to stay home. 

"What’s going to happen to the poultry plants? They’re gonna have to shut down," Wilson said.

State officials over the last two weeks have been paying close attention to “the rising level of positive tests that are coming from that particular community,” Lawson said.

He said county officials are working closely with the state to make sure poultry plant workers are tested and that they receive needed health care if they are sick, including isolation at local hotels if necessary.

But Wilson worried that as workers get tested and are found to be sick, it will scare off other employees from showing up for work. Local poultry plant companies, employees and government officials have said staffing levels have significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wilson represents Sussex County District 2, which includes the Route 113 corridor from Milford down to Millsboro. Carney on Tuesday declared Sussex County being a hot spot for COVID-19, especially the areas along that corridor.

On Monday, Carney also noted there has been “significant spread” of cases in the Georgetown, Milford, Millsboro and Seaford areas – all towns that have poultry processing plants or similar poultry facilities.

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“The situation in Sussex County is a very serious one,” Carney said in a Facebook Live on Monday. “We kind of saw it coming a month or so ago as we saw the first COVID-19 positive cases in the poultry plant in Milford.”

Since then, positive cases at poultry plants have spiked, though the exact number of confirmed cases remains unclear. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 27 said last week that Mountaire Farms had recently reported upward of 40 cases at its Selbyville plant alone.

“We did verify that it was a very serious problem over the last week by additional testing,” Carney said. “We will step up our game with monitoring at the plants.”

In addition to the issues with the spread of the coronavirus among the county’s poultry workers – which Carney said has spread into the communities where those workers live – Sussex County officials also briefly discussed what it will take to reopen, and what challenges they might be facing as they prepare next year’s budget.

Lawson said it remains unclear whether the county will see financial assistance coming from the federal government, and questions remain about how funding could be allocated to local governments.

As cases continue to climb in Sussex – the southernmost county had surpassed New Castle County with 2,114 confirmed cases as of Tuesday night – county staff are starting to look at what it will take to reopen government buildings to the public. 

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“The county’s operations will look different and things will change,” Lawson said, noting that any reopening would be gradual.

The county plans to install glass partitions in places where employees would interact with the public – like the building permit counter – and employees will continue to wear masks and gloves, Lawson said. Some employees will likely still work from home.

The county is also expecting to receive a shipment of 10,000 masks next week, Lawson said.

As for the budget, that will be an ongoing discussion, said Finance Director Gina Jennings. What’s for sure, she said, is that departments have been asked to trim and prioritize their budget proposals.

Jennings said right now she’s planning for COVID-19 to have an impact on revenues, and the county will not be planning any new initiatives, grants or capital improvement projects until the potential shortfall is clearer.

Sussex County must pass its fiscal year 2021 budget by June 30. A public hearing is set for June 23, Jennings said.

Do you work at one of Delaware's chicken plants? Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.