Outbreak reported at farm that helped feed hundreds of families last month

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — An outbreak of the coronavirus has been reported at a meat processing plant in Burke County.

According to state officials, at least two cases of COVID-19 have been reported at Case Farms in Morganton, which is the same farm that helped feed hundreds of families at discounted prices last month.

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Channel 9′s Dave Faherty has been closely following outbreaks at meat processing plants and went to Case Farms Tuesday afternoon to talk to some of the workers.

They told him they are worried about their safety but that the company is taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Outside the farm, Channel 9 could see workers wearing protective gear including mask and face shields.

Many of them said they have their temperatures checked before going into the plant everyday. The farm has set up a tent for that health screening near the employee entrance.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is not saying the exact number of cases at the farm, but at least two cases qualifies as an outbreak.

The health department in Burke County is not giving out facility names or numbers of positive cases at specific places.

When we asked workers if they’ve been tested or know of employees who’ve been tested, they told us it’s not happening.

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“They changed it to where they put every section has its own little barrier," one employee said. “So you’re not like even beside nobody .. there’s a screen beside you now. They’ve got that worked out.”

Currently there are over 1,600 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 26 processing plants in North Carolina.

Channel 9 reached out to Case Farms about whether or not they plan on ramping up testing, but have not heard back.

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