COVID-19 Update for Food Companies Navigating Quarantine Disruption - March 30, 2020

On March 28, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) updated its March 19, 2020 “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce” advisory list. These updates largely focus on clarifying which workers CISA considers to be essential, which may be helpful for the human and animal food industries. At the same time, however, the CISA Guidance 2.0 also includes additional language emphasizing that the document is “advisory in nature” and that the primary authority and responsibility for COVID-19 response activities to protect the public health and safety lies with state, local, tribal and territorial governments, with the Federal government playing a “supporting role.”