Washington mandates broad COVID-19 testing for farms experiencing outbreaks
Washington agricultural employers are now required to broadly test their workforce when health officials identify a significant outbreak, according to a Wednesday, Aug. 19, updated proclamation from Gov. Jay Inslee.
The update applies to Proclamation 20-57 that established health requirements for agriculture employers during the pandemic. Since the initial proclamation on May 28, total COVID-19 cases have increased by about 500 per day from 21,138 to 67,721, according to a state news release.
Agriculture and food processing industries have led the state in outbreaks in non-healthcare settings, according to an Aug. 4 report. Additionally, the COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately impacted Hispanic people who make up a significant portion of agriculture workers.
Despite making up 13% of the population, Hispanics represent 43% of confirmed COVID-19 cases where race and ethnicity information is available, according to Washington Department of Health data.
“There is no question that we need to escalate our response to this pandemic, and we know that additional focus must be placed on agricultural workplaces,” Inslee said in the release. “From the data, we know that people of color have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, and while we have much work to do to address that, this is one step in the right direction.”
Secretary of Health John Wiesman has also ordered farmworkers at Gebbers Farms in Okanogan County to be tested within the coming weeks, according to the release. The Wednesday directive comes in response to a significant outbreak that led to the death of three employees, the release read, and the testing effort will be led by an epidemiology team from the Department of Health.
“Testing is one of the critical tools we have available to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Wiesman said in the release. “With the large and disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on agricultural workers, it is important that we come together to quickly identify cases, including those who may be asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic, so we can ensure they have a safe work environment.”
Wiesman talked about the new requirements during a weekly briefing Wednesday about the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Asked by a reporter how many outbreaks the state has seen in the agricultural industry, he said they are looking at data and think there might be a couple in addition to Gebbers Farms that meet or are close to the threshold in the proclamation.
Employers will need to broadly test when there are more than nine COVID cases or an “attack rate” or more than 10 percent of employees at a facility, Wiesman said.
Asked about the cost of that testing, he said: “Generally when we have these kinds of outbreaks, public health works closely with these employers and oftentimes does pick up the testing cost.”
These efforts by the state follow an Aug. 10 announcement of two relief funds for immigrants and food production workers, two groups of people being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
“Agricultural workers are some of the hardest-working people of our state,” Inslee said in the release. “Their labor is integral to Washington’s economy, and they bring to our table the many nutritious foods that Washington has to offer,” Inslee said.
Inslee added he wants agriculture employers to proactively safeguard against workplace outbreaks and coordinate with local health jurisdiction and the Department of Health when need.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 3:03 PM.
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