Noem says Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls accounts for more than half the state’s COVID-19 infections (Audio)

April 14, 2020
Mike Tanner

PIERRE, S.D.—As South Dakota’s cumulative number of COVID-19 infections approach 1,000, Governor Kristi Noem is revealing more information about the number one hot spot for the coronavirus in the state.

She talked Tuesday about the numbers as they relate to the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls…..

Noem says the Smithfield plant is a “critical infrastructure job plant” as defined by the federal government….

Smithfield announced Sunday the plant is shut down indefinitely.

Noem says Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken asked her to create an “isolation camp” in Sioux Falls that could hold up to 7,000 people who test positive for the virus. The mayor’s request included a National Guard presence at the camp.

Noem says she will not be leading that charge, but the mayor can pursue it further if he wishes…

As of Tuesday, South Dakota reported 988 positive cases of COVID-19. Two-hundred-sixty-one of those people have been deemed “recovered.”