Bernard Matthews turkey plant in Suffolk is hit by coronavirus outbreak with 18 workers forced to self-isolate after testing positive
- Around 100 staff were tested for Covid-19 with most returning negative results
- Food production at the plant in Holton has not been affected by the outbreak
- Most workers who tested positive live in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft areas
Eighteen workers at a Bernard Matthews turkey plant have tested positive for coronavirus and are self-isolating.
Food production at the processing facility in Holton, near Halesworth in Suffolk, has not been affected by the outbreak.
Around 100 staff have been tested for Covid-19 with most returning negative results and additional testing is taking place this week.
The site has had controls in place since March to reduce coronavirus infections, including regular temperature checks, staff working in bubbles, Covid marshals, masks and visors and social distancing throughout the site.
The Bernard Matthews turkey processing plant in Holton, near Halesworth, Suffolk, where production is continuing despite 18 staff testing positive for coronavirus after 100 were tested
The majority of the 18 workers who tested positive live in the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft areas and the cases are believed to have initiated in the community, the company said.
Officials including from Suffolk County Council, Public Health England and Bernard Matthews are working together to manage the situation.
Stuart Keeble, Suffolk’s director of public health, said: ‘I’d like to reassure people that this is, at this stage, a relatively small number of cases and that the situation is being very carefully managed by all the partners working closely together.’
A spokesperson for Bernard Matthews said: ‘We are grateful for the help of all local agencies and we fully support their objectives to protect the local community.
‘We believe these small number of cases were initiated in the community, but nevertheless we will continue to enforce our robust Covid measures as we enter into our busiest period of the year.’
David Edwards, health protection consultant for Public Health England East of England, said: ‘We are working closely with the organisation, local authority and NHS partners to provide public health advice and help stop the spread of the virus.
‘Close workplace contacts have been identified and given self-isolation advice.
‘Bernard Matthews is following national guidance and ensuring that anyone with symptoms self isolates for 10 days, and their household members isolate for 14 days.
‘Close contacts of confirmed cases are asked to self-isolate for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms, to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus.
‘Employers have been asked to take certain measures to help reduce the spread of the virus, including ensuring staff can maintain 2 metre social distancing wherever possible, employees wash their hands more often than usual for 20 seconds with soap and water and frequently touched surfaces are cleaned regularly.’