but now, little black hawk county, iowa, population 130,000 in the whole county now, because of the outbreak that started in that plant, they've got over 1300 coronavirus cases in that county. and they've got a climbing death toll. and no, they don't have a ton of health care resources in that county. they just don't. they're not designed for a pandemic. but that is what they are coping with now. and so i want you to meet tonight, the medical director of one of their local clinics, her name is dr. sharon declose. this is again the waterloo community television. and you can hear the white house, or the conservative tv, your home state governor, brag about how things are better, we're over this, and this isn't new york city here, and trying to stop this virus is worse than the virus itself. just introduce them to dr. duclose in the middle of iowa. >> thank god there are a lot of people that have not been personally touched by this. and thank god there are a lot of people out in that don't know somebody that has been personally touched by this. but for people who work in the health care profess

joining us now is tony thompson, the sheriff in black hawk county, iowa. you for being with us tonight. >> it's my pleasure. thanks for having me. >> so if you could tell us a little bit about the plant in waterloo, in black hawk county that has had this outbreak. the governor has talked about her concern that there is a considerable outbreak there. i know it's a large facility. it employs a lot of local people. i know you've been inside and you've been critical about whether or not they've done what needs to be done to keep people who are working there. >> sure. it's a plant that employs about 2,700 employees. they process about 20,000 head of hog a day. it is a big part of the agro business, agro economy of the black hawk county, waterloo, and the state of iowa. so i don't disparage the governor's opinion that certainly with an agricultural-based economy, that this is important. but having been in that plant and recognizing -- i don't necessarily blame the local plant management, staff. they're probably walking that precarious tightrope between, you know,

who doesn't, we're putting everybody in my county at risk. >> tony thompson, the sheriff in black hawk countya. thank you for speaking out about this publicly the way you have. i'm sure this is incredibly challenging and scary in black hawk county and thanks for letting us know at the national level what's going on and sir, i ask you to please keep us apprised and come back to let us know how things are going as you continue to pursue this at the local level. i really appreciate it. >> absolutely. >> all right. we'll be right back. stay with us. right we'll be right back. stay with us underwear. so i was constantly double-checking. know what i mean? so, i switched. to always discreet boutique. its shape-hugging elastic threads smooth out the area that people notice most. so, it fits better than depend. and, the super absorbent core turns liquid to gel. so i get secure protection, in a fit that no one notices. always protected. always discreet. you don't just own horses. you own a pasture. a barn. and hay. lots of hay. you need a tractor built to get every job done right. the kubota l series t

if you go back a week ago, in waterloo and black hawk county, you had about 70 cases. now it's around 400. 481 cases, that number expected to only go up as the sheriff said it's really too little too late at this point. he said the cows are already out of the barn, chuck. tyson should have taken stronger measures in his mind several weeks ago when they had a chance too limit the spread. now he says officials are really left to play catch-up, and it has a serious implication for our nation's food supply. chuck? >> morgan, i just want to double check something. you said you read it from the statement. tyson is only now deciding to start testing? i just -- beginning april 22nd, after what we saw what happened to smithfield in sioux falls. today they announced they're going to start testing their employees? that is remarkable. >> reporter: that's what we're urn. the governor is saying they're hopeful to do that on friday. important to note here, iowa responsible for one third of our country's pork production. this one particular plant, a major player in that, and the conce

when i spoke with sheriff thompson on monday night, black hawk county had 356 confirmed coronavirus cases. as of today, their he up a to 511 cases. that's the most of any county in iowa. at least 40% of those cases are tied directly to that tyson foods plant. we're starting to see obituaries for people who worked at that plant in the local paper. >>> well, today, after days and days of local officials putting pressure on the company, and on iowa's republican governor, tyson finally today announced it was closing that plant in waterloo, iowa, indefinitely. waterloo's mayor had been calling for that, alongside the sheriff. he told cnn today that he welcomed the decision but he believes it may have come too late to stop the widespread spreading of that virus in his town. black hawk county sheriff, tony thompson told us this about the plant finally closed, while we are pleased with this development, we recognize how late it is for many. now our task is to react to the damage done and to get back on top of monitoring and testing without overrunning our health care system. so that's the update

against covid-19 tyson testing hundreds of workers and suspending operations at their plant in black hawk county, iowa, after officials tied nearly 90% of the counts nearly 800 covid cases to a single meat processing plant one employee described coming to work with little to no protection >> they didn't have enough material or masks and things like that to provide to us, so they would start giving us different types of rags and stuff they had that they had washed or cleaned. >> prior to the shutdown the worker tells us plant managers were asked why fewer employees were showing up adding the virus was rarely mentioned if at all. >> people start getting sick, people start being carried out of there, and so we were always asking our supervisors basically what is it that's going on here? >> reporter: tyson telling nbc news in part we've been working diligently to protect our team members. early on we allowed workers to bring their own masks and we even supplied some until we could secure surgical style coverings which we now require all team members to wear adding we're not aware of any ambulance vi

. >> reporter: coronavirus cases in iowa's black hawk county has doubled in recent days to 356. 90% traced back to employees at this tyson meat-packing plant. >> 132,000 citizens of black hawk county you now the victims of apathy of protocol, the lethargy in response from corporate tyson. >> reporter: the sheriff toured the plant earlier this month. he says the facility should close for deep cleaning and better screen its employees. >> the line moves so quickly they work elbow to elbow. they have a 36-inch work space. >> reporter: tyson says they made changes requiring employees to wear face coverings and installing dividers on production lines. >> we've worked daily gently from text our team members by taking worker temperatures at the start of each shift and identifying symptomatic team members. >> reporter: their outbreak is not an isolated case. cbs news confirmed covid cases in 17 meat processing plants in ten states. 13 of which have temporarily closed or operating at reduced capacity. but the closures come too late for some families. 78-year-old sal sanchez who worked at t

in iowa the black hawk county board of health voted today to urge governor and and tyson foods to temporarilyk processing plant. 182 of the counties 374 coronavirus cases are linked to the tyson plant. i want to welcome back the mayor of water loo, iowa. mayor, thank you for joining us. again i know you are busy. good to have you here. the governor is the only one with the power to force them to close their plant in your city. why are they leaving it open? >> that's the same question that we have been asking here locally. all 132,000 people in my county. we have a very -- in the city 70,000, 16% african-american. latino. within our community. that's the same question that all of us are asking. if you take a look at the tama plant. 106 cases closed. clean up bus junction. 1,400 workers. 186 cases closed. south dakota 600 workers. but that number that you have been given 182 that's absolutely not the correct number. of cases that we have today. dealing with the bad practices of the plant. >> how many do you believe there are? >> right now we stand about 380. 90% linked to the plant. >> wow. >>

: that's right, jake, this is a tough time for the families and the community and county of black hawke countybecause the cases have spiked and a lot is because of this plant about 2800 people work here 180 positive covid-19 cases, most of the people have not been tested yet. we imagine that the numbers will spike. we want to give you an idea of what tyson is saying yesterday. people have been asking for days and weeks. the governor told us she did not call for tyson and they say we understand keeping the facilities operational so we can feed the nation. the safety remains a top priority. covid-19 cases, community concerns has resulted in a collective decision to close. many of the employees very concerned. they don't think tyson did enough inside there. i want to give you a look at what one employee told me when he made a phone call last week. >> so you called hr. you said what? >> i was concerned about the coronavirus being in the plant. i was scared for me and my family. >> what did hr say to you? they told me, i was safe and they told me that everything was okay and they told me i'll have

the company's largest pork plant in the nation -- after at least 90% of coronavirus cases in black hawk county were traced back to tyson plant workers.s. president trump on wednesday signeded an executive ordeder suspenending thehe processing of imimmigrants' g green card applications f for 60 daysys. in related news, "the los angeles times" reports millions of u.s. citizens will not receive coronavirus stimulus checks because they are married to immigrants who use an individual taxpayer identification number -- an id issued by the irs to workers who don't have a social security number. this comes as education secretary betsy devos is blocking undocumenented collllee students from m receiving coronavirus emergency aid. congressss had allocated $66 billion in its stimulus package to help college students cover living expenses such as food and housing. the education department then issued a new guideline mandating the money can only be given to students who qualify for federal financial aid,d, meaningng u.s. citizens a and some e lawful permanent residents. at the u.s.-mexico border, mexican aut

. >> tony thompson, the sheriff of black hawk county, iowa, sir, i can hear the frustration in your voicet you do not have to talk to national media about what is going on right there with everything else you're dealing with, i appreciate you taking the time and i want you to come back and keep us apprised and i'm worried about your county and a few other counties in that part of the country dealing with similar situations right now and i feel like we need to stay in touch to let the country know what's happening. >> sincerely my pleasure. thanks for having me. >> thanks, sheriff. we'll be right back. stay with us. with us (vo) verizon and "the new york times" are offering 14 million students free digital access to "times" journalism. my schizophrenia for a while, and then my kids asked me why my body was rocking back and forth. my doctor said i have tardive dyskinesia, which may be related to important medications i take for my schizophrenia. i also felt my tongue darting and pushing against my cheeks. i was worried what others would think. td can affect different parts of the body, and

the black hawk county sheriff says he is worried the coronavirus will take over his community if theility in waterloo. closing other plant where 186 workers tested positive for covid-19. take a look at this. hundreds of people flocking to a beach within 30 manipulates of its reopening in jacksonville, florida. it will be open for 8 hours a day. the mayor stressing beac stresss must still follow social distancing. >> how long this beach remains open is going to be 100 percent determined by the beach goers. pete: like a scolding from dad. it comes as a florida saw its largest single day increase in covid-19 cases. jumping by more than 1400. still can't sun bathe. i don't know why you can't do that just one hour ago a face mask mandate went into effect in maryland. joining new york in requiring people to wearing face masks while out in public. new york's mandate officially started last night. people who can't maintain social distance like inside grocery stores and on public transit. emergency room nurse brings comfort to her covid-19 patients one photo at a time. boston nurse gina barbe