A third UK meat factory has been forced to close after a number of its staff contracted coronavirus.
The latest localised outbreak has centred on the Kober meat processing plant in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire.
Owner Asda confirmed the news after health secretary Matt Hancock told the Downing Street press briefing yesterday there had been a cluster in the Kirklees area.
The news comes as further outbreaks were announced centred on food processing sites in Anglesey and Wrexham in North Wales, which supply supermarkets, KFC, Greggs and Subway.
This has raised concerns about how new Covid-19 outbreaks are announced, as a number of professionals in the area were not previously aware of the new outbreak in Yorkshire.
A local GP said she was ‘slack-jawed’ at finding out about the situation by watching TV.
Dr Jools Thomas wrote on Twitter: ‘Watching the health secretary daily briefing slack jawed… he keeps saying there’s an outbreak in Kirklees. As a GP in Kirklees it would be nice to be aware of this from a formal source instead of hearing it on the news!’
Tracey Brabin, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, posted: ‘Just astounding that the health secretary would announce a Covid-19 outbreak in Kirklees during the daily briefing without discussing the possible ramifications for the council. Thoughtless, sloppy and unhelpful.’
Mr Hancock told the Thursday briefing the manual tracing system had helped to control local outbreaks in ‘parts of Leicester’ and Kirklees, West Yorkshire, with mobile testing units sent in to help track down positive cases.
Asda later confirmed that its subsidiary, Kober, had taken the decision to voluntarily close the Cleckheaton plant.
The firm said: ‘As soon as we became aware that some colleagues at our Kober site may have Covid-19, we responded swiftly and worked collaboratively with the local authority and Public Health England to test all colleagues.
‘We have existing strict safety measures in place on the site; however, as a precautionary measure we have voluntarily closed the site to protect colleagues and prevent any further transmission.
‘Colleagues who need to self-isolate will receive full pay and we aim to reopen the facility early next week. We’re grateful to Kirklees Council and Public Health England for their support through this process.’
News of the closure of the Cleckheaton plant came as it was confirmed that staff at a chicken processing plant in North Wales have been asked to self-isolate for two weeks after 58 cases of coronavirus.
Production was halted at the 2 Sisters factory in Llangefni, Anglesey, on Thursday after the Covid-19 outbreak was declared.
And in Wrexham, North Wales, 38 staff at the Rowan Foods factory tested positive for the virus, but bosses said the cases reflected an increase in the locality rather than a spread within the site.
In a statement, the 2 Sisters Food Group said the first reported positive case at its plant was on May 28 and a full ‘safe ways of working’ action plan had been in place since early March.
Production at the factory, where 560 people are employed, will be transferred to other company locations until July 2.
2 Sisters Food Group is one of the largest food producers in the UK, with brands including Fox’s Biscuits and Holland’s Pies, and customers such as supermarkets, KFC and Marks & Spencer.
A spokesperson for Oscar Mayer, which runs the Rowan Foods plant, said a track and trace process had been implemented at the Wrexham factory, which prepares foods for supermarkets and chains including Greggs and Subway.
They added 38 staff from the workforce of 1,500 were absent after testing positive for Covid-19, but none were seriously ill or admitted to hospital.
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