A coronavirus outbreak at a factory in North Wales has now left more than 150 workers infected, as unions call on employers to take urgent action to make facilities safer.
The outbreak, at a 2 Sisters Food Group factory in Llangefni, Anglesey, was first reported last Wednesday, when the number stood at 51.
Public Health Wales said 400 workers had been tested since last week and there were now 158 confirmed cases. The first positive case was discovered on 28 May and the factory was closed for two weeks on Thursday.
Amid speculation over the safety of food factories, with two other sites forced to shut their doors last week, the Welsh government has suspended plans for the reopening of schools in Anglesey, while the situation is being dealt with.
Ministers have also not ruled out bringing in a lockdown on Anglesey island, where the factory is located.
“As of 15:00 BST on Sunday 21 June we have recorded an increase of 83 confirmed positive cases identified over the past 24 hours,” Dr Christopher Johnson, consultant in health protection at PHW, said. “Testing of employees continues, and it is likely that some additional cases will be identified in the coming days.
“The increase in cases is as we anticipated when a focused track and trace programme is implemented, and does not mean that the spread of infection is increasing.”
Welsh economy minister Ken Skates told BBC Wales it was essential to make sure the Anglesey outbreak was “kept as local as possible”.
He said: “That will help contain the virus, and that, in turn, will help Anglesey open up its economy sooner, and that is something I think the island will welcome and I think the entire population of Wales will welcome.”
Anglesey Council has already confirmed schools will not reopen as planned on 29 June following incidents at the plant.
Separate outbreaks last week also emerged at two more food factories, with Rowan Foods, in Wrexham, which is owned by Oscar Mayer, revealing 38 staff had tested positive for Covid-19.
A PHW spokesperson said: “PHW is offering testing to employees at the Rowan Foods Ltd industrial ready meal manufacturing site in Wrexham, as part of a case-finding exercise.
“We would like to remind all members of the public, including employees of Rowan Foods Ltd and their close contacts that they have a vital role in preventing the spread of coronavirus, to help keep Wales safe.”
Meanwhile, an Asda meat factory in West Yorkshire has also been closed, after an outbreak that has left about 100 workers self-isolating.
The outbreaks follow union claims that not enough has been done to ensure social distancing at food factories. They come weeks after staff at the Rowan plant staged a walkout over conditions.
Unite national officer Bev Clarkson said the union had “warned time and again” that coronavirus outbreaks at meat processing factories throughout the UK were likely because of unsafe working conditions.
“The union has been in touch with the management of all three closed factories to insist that staff only return to work when it is safe to do so and when further outbreaks can be prevented,” she said.
“While it is true that there are difficulties in maintaining staff distancing at many sites, this is no excuse – especially since similar outbreaks in the US and other countries have been widely reported on.”
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