State reports more COVID-19 cases among farmworkers — but stops releasing names of farms

Coronavirus outbreaks at four produce farms in North Carolina have resulted in 49 positive cases among workers, according to the latest results from state health officials.

However, on Friday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services stopped publishing the names of affected farms and instead published only the roads where the farms are located. The department did not respond to questions on Friday from The News & Observer about withholding the information.

The cases are included in this week’s report on COVID-19 outbreaks in congregate living facilities from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The state began making data on COVID-19 cases public on April 27 after pressure from several media outlets around North Carolina.

At least 29 of the cases are listed as “residents” of the farms: seasonal immigrant farmworkers from Mexico who come to work in the United States on a temporary visa and live in housing provided by growers.

The remainder of cases affected staff who are not residents of the farm.

Here are the farms that currently have reported outbreaks:

Cases as of May 22

▪ Ashe County: Grouse Ridge Tree Farm in Grassy Creek reported 3 seasonal farmworker cases. According to the N.C. Department of Labor, the farm employs 20 workers.

As of May 12:

▪ Wake County: Porter Farms & Nursery in Raleigh reported 14 seasonal farmworker cases. The farm employs at least 20 workers.

▪ Cabarrus County: Barbee Farms in Concord reported three seasonal farmworker cases and one non-seasonal staff case. The farm employs 11 workers.

▪ Guilford County: Rudd Farm in Greensboro reported nine seasonal farmworker cases. The farm employs twelve workers.

▪ Lee County: Harrington and Sons Farm in Sanford reported 19 non-resident farm staff cases. Department of Labor job order forms indicate that five seasonal workers were requested for the farm this season.

Grouse Ridge Tree Farm, which grows Christmas trees in western N.C., did not respond to calls from The N&O for comment. The Ashe County Health Department did not answer emailed questions from The N&O by Friday afternoon.

On April 25, Rudd Farm posted on their website that after one worker tested positive for the coronavirus, several more were infected and they had to temporarily shut down, The News & Record first reported.

The “pick-your-own” strawberry farm has resumed its drive-through service where customers can purchase freshly picked fruit, manager Joan Rudd told The N&O in an email.

Harrington & Sons Farm in Sanford posted on their Facebook page on May 30 that they would not grow any strawberries or produce this season. They gave no additional details.

Quarantine at Wake County farm

Porter Farms and Produce in south Raleigh employs 10 immigrant farmworkers with temporary H-2A visas, manager Charity Morris told The N&O in an interview.

At least six seasonal workers who are hired by a separate farm work temporarily at Porter Farms and live in worker housing for part of the season. Four of them were among those who were quarantined after testing positive in late April.

“We have a total of 14 H-2A workers who were quarantined when they were sick,“ said Morris. “[The workers] came here to help us and we value them. And this farm wouldn’t be able to run without them.”

Some workers have already recovered and were authorized by the Wake County Health Department on May 8 to return to work, Morris said.

Community members ,the N.C. State Extension program, food banks and the North Carolina Farmworkers Project, a health nonprofit, have brought food and supplies to ensure they taken care of as best as possible, said Morris.

The N.C. Farmworkers Project told The N&O that the farm cooperated with them to test all workers and farm staff after a worker with symptoms contacted the organization. The farm then arranged for them to be tested at a clinic.

Janeth Tapia, the organization’s health outreach coordinator, has provided health education to them by phone and video calls as they have recovered.

She said the number of farm cases so far has not been as large as she was expecting at this stage of the season, as workers arrive in North Carolina.

“I’m surprised because I thought that by now we were going to have an incredible contagion in farms,” Tapia said. “But we haven’t claimed victory yet, because this is ongoing.”

The N.C. Farmworkers Project told The N&O in March about the risk COVID-19 poses to the thousands of farmworkers in North Carolina who often live and work in close quarters with each other.

This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 12:40 PM with the headline "State reports more COVID-19 cases among farmworkers — but stops releasing names of farms."