Brazil meat plants linked to spread of COVID-19 pandemic, claim experts

Experts have uncovered a link between Brazilian meat plants and the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. As per reports, meat products such as beef and chicken are huge industries in Brazil that are also allegedly aligned with the country’s far-right President who has repeatedly dismissed the threat of the coronavirus. Amid the coronavirus outbreak, meat plants in Brazil have remained open.

Virus clusters found near meat plants

According to reports, other countries like the United States, Canada, Germany and Ireland have also experienced outbreaks of virus clusters near the vicinity of slaughterhouses. In Brazil, the beef sector is worth a whopping $26 billion while the chicken industry is worth $8 billion.

As per reports, meat plants provide the perfect breeding ground for the COVID-19 virus. Rio Grande do Sul is one of the hardest-hit Brazilian states and contains 32 meat plants, a third of all the coronavirus cases is the state, roughly 4,957, can be attributed to the workers from those 32 plants. According to experts, COVID-19 clusters in the northern and southern part of Brazil were built around towns that housed the meat plants, thus, establishing proof of a link between the virus and meat plants.

Read: Dozens Demonstrate Against Bolsonaro In Brazil

Read: Brazil: Reassigning Deforestation Data Official Raises Question Of Political Interference

Reports have indicated that China which is one of the largest importers of meat from Brazil halted the imports from two of Brazil’s largest meat companies, BRF and JBS. Brazil’s ministry of agriculture has also ordered the suspension of all exports from the JBS factory in Rio Grande Do Sul.

Brazil has reported 1,926,824 positive coronavirus to date, as per the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre. The country has a death toll of 74,133. Currently, Brazil is second only to the United States in terms of the number of coronavirus cases. COVID-19 pandemic started in China late last year and has since then infected over 13.4 million people worldwide and the global death toll stands at 580,552.

(Representative Image)(Image Credit Pixabay)

Read: Brazil Sacks Official After Soaring June Deforestation Data

Read: COVID-19: US, Brazil, India And South Africa Report Highest Increase In Infections