SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken pushed for increased COVID-19 testing during a CNN appearance Tuesday.
The mayor, who has praised the state-funded mass testing of Smithfield employees this week, said more still needs to be done to understand the full scope of the virus’ spread in Sioux Falls.
“We need to be testing more, just like most states and most cities need to be testing more,” TenHaken said. “I want to push for more testing among our frontline employees, first responders.”
TenHaken said observing trends in coronavirus data is “only as good as the tests you’re running.”
The mayor also addressed the partial reopening of the Smithfield plant. While getting it back up and running is important, he said, there are no easy answers when trying to protect worker safety.
“I don’t know how you ever get to a point where you say those environments are going to be completely safe, and that’s hard. That’s what makes it difficult for us as leaders,” TenHaken said.
The mayor said he had been in touch with leaders of the union representing Smithfield employees about particular concerns. One was the so-called “kill floor,” where hogs enter the plant to be processed.
“There’s a lot of moisture in the air on that floor; you don’t have partitions that you’d like to see between workers,” TenHaken said.
“There’s this new normal that we talk about, what’s the new normal in a processing plant, and no one knows that yet.”
