US-HEALTH-VIRUS-FOOD-MEAT

Butchers chop up beef at Jones Meat & Food Services in Rigby, Idaho, May 26, 2020. As coronavirus clusters in slaughterhouses around the world continue to multiply, health experts are calling for better virus monitoring to prevent further infection. Slaughterhouses are shutting down across the United States after thousands of cases were confirmed. Four managers responsible for ensuring social distancing barriers have died. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that at least 5,000 meat and poultry workers have contracted the virus in the US alone. Local meat processors are swamped with orders in the wake of the closing and interruptions of large packing houses caused by the COVID-19 virus. Owner Brent Jones says his business is three or four times busier than normal with his employees processing up to 100 cows a week. Local demand for meat is very high, but the cost of hamburger is what used to be the price of steak. To bypass the high prices and shortages, locals buy animals from ranchers and farmers and have local butchers kill and process an entire cow of pig, then store the meat in freezers. (Photo by Natalie Behring / AFP) (Photo by NATALIE BEHRING/AFP via Getty Images)