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A worker is suing ConAgra Foods Packaged Foods, alleging he got infected with COVID-19 at work and passed the disease on to his wife, who died of it. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Maria Perez reports that Beloit resident Rigoberto Ruiz alleges the company didn’t ensure that employees wore masks in its Darien plant, where he worked and which processes Birds Eye frozen vegetables. The company claims it did implement federal health recommendations to prevent the spread of the disease. Perez found that as of June 1, the ConAgra plant was the site of Wisconsin’s third largest COVID-19 outbreak.
Top Stories
Cases of worrisome COVID-19 variant double in Wisconsin in a week — Wisconsin State Journal
Worker sues Wisconsin food plant, saying he contracted COVID-19 there and passed it to his wife. She later died of the disease. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin lawmaker overreaches on claim that Republicans delayed COVID testing — PolitiFact Wisconsin
Nearly 110,000 at long-term care facilities in Wisconsin vaccinated against COVID-19 — Wisconsin State Journal
Milwaukee put race front and center as it tracks COVID-19’s toll, helping shape a national conversation on racism as a public health crisis — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
What you need to know about vaccine cards — WPR
COVID-19 cases continue to rise in area — Beloit Daily News
City of Racine removes indoor capacity restriction for religious worship — Journal Times
Milwaukee Bucks get vaccinated, encourage others to do the same — Channel 3000
Milwaukee teachers’ union receives 300 complaints in first week back — WISN
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Quotable
“Crushing the virus is the solution to both the (labor) supply problem and the demand problem.”
Aaron Sojourner, a University of Minnesota economist, speaking to the New York Times about research showing higher employment among those who are vaccinated.
Data to note
Here’s a look at the Department of Health Services’ vaccine dashboard, which showed Friday that 38.5% of Wisconsinites have received at least once vaccine dose, including 78.9% of those ages 65 and older. Meanwhile, 25.8% of Wisconsinites are fully vaccinated, including 71.2% of those older than 65. Racial disparities persist in distributing vaccines. The shares of Black, Hispanic and Native American residents to receive a dose remain below that of white residents.
Public health officials continue to urge Wisconsinites to wear masks and practice physical distancing until vaccinations are more widely distributed — particularly as more contagious virus variants spread. On Friday, the state DHS reported five new COVID-19 deaths, pushing the full toll to 6,703.
WisContext offers this visualization.
Find a vaccine site near you
DHS has this interactive map of vaccine providers across Wisconsin. Vaccinations are generally by appointment only and it may take time to schedule appointments with providers due to limited supplies of vaccines. Curious about how well your county is doing on vaccinations? The Washington Post created this searchable map.
Resilient Wisconsin
People helping others and showing resilience during this time of anxiety. Send suggestions by tagging us on social media — @wisconsinwatch — or emailing us: tips@wisconsinwatch.org.
‘We did not have a business plan. We had a vision’: Wausau’s Taste of Manila made debut amid the pandemic — Wausau Daily Herald
Pine Crest Nursing Home re-opens to visitors — Merrill Foto News
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Beloit worker sues over COVID-19 death — 4/16/21 is a post from WisconsinWatch.org, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
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