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The family of a Tyson Foods meat processing plant worker who died of COVID-19 is suing the company, alleging that managers wagered money on how many workers at Waterloo, Iowa plant would contract COVID-19, Sydney Czyzon reports for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
The company, which also has plants in Green Bay and New London, Wisconsin, announced Thursday that it had suspended two managers accused of involvement in the Iowa betting pool, including one who allegedly called COVID-19 “not a big deal” and said “everyone is going to get it,” Czyzon reports.
“More than 1,000 of Tyson’s 2,800 Waterloo workers got COVID-19 in the spring, leading the company to temporarily stop operations and reopen with some new safety measures,” she wrote.
Top Stories
Tyson suspends managers named in lawsuit alleging betting on COVID cases inside waterloo plant — Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
Marshfield Clinic nurses are in tears caring for COVID-19 patients. Their N95 masks drip with sweat. They wonder how long they can keep up. — Appleton Post-Crescent
Gov. Tony Evers, Republican leaders to meet Friday to discuss COVID-19 response measures — Wisconsin State Journal
States that imposed few restrictions now have the worst outbreaks — The New York Times
As hospital system nears capacity for COVID-19 patients, Aspirus leaders paint dire picture — Wausau Daily Herald
Waukesha County officials say people need to take the growing coronavirus threat more ‘seriously’ to control it — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
CDC recommends that Americans don’t travel for Thanksgiving — USA TODAY
Wisconsin economy still faces COVID-19 threat as we wait on a vaccine — TMJ4 News
To make room for ‘sickest of the sick,’ Wausau hospital will send some COVID-19 patients home — WPR
Froedtert Health delays non-urgent surgical procedures amid COVID-19 spike — TMJ4 News
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Quotable
“With few tools available right now to curb spread other than increasingly urgent public appeals, our COVID numbers are growing rapidly and predict, quite accurately so far, a health care crisis in Wisconsin that without significant, swift, and unified action will become a catastrophe …. We agree with Dr. (Deborah) Birx and a growing number of your colleagues, that Wisconsin needs to do more. We need you, the state’s top elected officials, to come together immediately with unified actions to slow demand for care by mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and to increase the capacity for care by making significant investments in our workforce and care sites and further streamlining regulatory policies.”
— Wisconsin Hospital Association President and CEO Eric Borgerding in a letter to Gov. Tony Evers and legislative leaders Thursday
Data to note
WisContext offers these visualizations of Wisconsin’s trends in COVID-19 infections, deaths and hospitalizations.
Calculate your exposure risk
In Wisconsin, even small gatherings this holiday season can carry a big risk of exposure to the coronavirus, according to a nationwide tool that estimates the danger by the size of gathering and county in which it is held. Data scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Stanford University developed the tool, which you can find here.
Resilient Wisconsin
People helping others and showing resilience during this time of anxiety. Send suggestions by tagging us on social media — @wisconsinwatch — or emailing us: tips@wisconsinwatch.org.
Turkey to-go: Free Thanksgiving meal providers adapt to COVID-19 — Wisconsin State Journal
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