2 Sisters coronavirus cases contained
Public Health Wales said the numbers of those confirmed as infected had increased by six to 216, but added these were not new infections; the cases were identified following a data-matching exercise.
Last month, 2 Sisters saw a cluster of 200 confirmed coronavirus cases at the chicken plant in Llangefni, Wales, following a rapid screening exercise.
It temporarily closed the site for 14 days following the confirmation of a cluster of Coronavirus cases
Trade union Unite also said it had received reports of more suspected coronavirus outbreaks at meat processing factories. The organisation told Food Manufacture that, while the outbreaks were not confirmed, concerns had been raised at more than five sites.
Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales said the 2 Sisters outbreak had been contained.
“There is no evidence to suggest that the outbreak at the plant has led to significant community transmission,” he said. “Instead, the data show that we have contained the outbreak through the control measures that have been put in place.
“We have been unable to contact a small number of employees and contractors associated with the factory, and we will be writing to them to encourage them to come forward for testing through the Community Testing Units operated by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.”
Reports also emerged of a localised outbreak at an Asda meat processing site in Kirklees, operated by Kober Ltd, and the Rowan Foods site in Wrexham, North Wales which has confirmed cases.
Rowan Foods
Meanwhile, Rowan Foods in Wrexham now has 237 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and Public Health Wales is searching for 100 employees and contractors who could be at risk. It had been searching for 300 employees, but managed to eliminate about 200 due to them shielding and not working at the factory during the period when those infected could have transmitted the virus.
Originally there had been 38 confirmed cases at the site which were under investigation.
“The relatively large increase in cases reported does not mean that we have experienced a sudden jump in levels of infection in the Wrexham area as a whole,” Dr Shankar added.
“There is no evidence that Rowan Foods is the source of the outbreak. The multi-agency team managing the outbreak with Public Health Wales will continue to review the situation and work with the employer, their workforce and wider community to bring this outbreak to a swift conclusion.”
No outbreak
There are now 130 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Kepak in Merthyr. The meat plant remains open and Public Health Wales has said that no outbreak has been declared.
“People who have tested positive for coronavirus over the weekend and their household contacts have been instructed to self-isolate, and any risk to the wider community is being controlled,” Dr Shankar said.
“Coronavirus testing at the facility over the weekend has identified 101 confirmed cases out of the 810 people that were tested on Saturday. This brings the total number of cases identified at the site since April to 130.”
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases have not been restricted to Welsh meat factories. Leicester-based Bradgate Bakery, which is owned by Samworth Brothers, has also reported a number of cases.
Leicester has already entered a period of second lockdown after cases were reported to have soared in the city.
“It has been well-documented that there has been a rise in cases in the community in Leicester in recent weeks,” a spokeswoman said. “Unsurprisingly, with this prevalence in the local community, we have had some cases. The numbers are small, in relation to the size of our business.”
Cases have continued to emerge at non-meat factories, including Nestlé and Princes Group plants over the past few months.
