Factory staff sent home after worker tests positive for Covid
FOUR employees at a plastic factory in Hull have been sent home to selfisolate after a staff member returned a positive coronavirus test.
Hurst Doors confirmed there had been one confirmed case with four other workers being told to self-isolate.
After conducting an investigation, Kevin Wheatman, director and general manager at the factory, confirmed the employees had since been sent home.
The confirmed case came to light after an employee claimed “a manager at the factory hadn’t self-isolated” as per government guidelines.
The concerned employee said: “The floor manager and two other employees worked on Saturday together for around four hours.
“One of the employees has tested positive for Covid-19, so the other employees got sent home to isolate, which is correct, but the manager is saying he doesn’t have to isolate because he didn’t speak to him.”
The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the manager is continuing to put everyone’s health at risk as he personally conducts the first temperature checks – meaning the manager is with every factory”.
Adding: “It doesn’t matter if you didn’t speak to him, you’ve been in close contact with him, that’s the rules by law, if you come into contact with someone – you isolate.”
The staff member claimed that the manager had not followed the correct coronavirus protocol, however, the company has refuted the claims.
Concerned employees now say they are worried about taking the virus back to their “poorly mums” in turn leaving them “frightened”, but Hurst Doors insists it is following guidelines correctly.
A spokesperson for Hurst Doors said: “We would like to categorically state that we totally refute the wholly unfounded claims.
“As per our usual protocols, an investigation was carried
“coming into single person contact in the out into this specific instance to identify potential close contacts of the employee within the previous 48 hours of this positive test.
“Four further individuals were identified as having close contact with the employee, and are now self-isolating for ten days.
“Three of these employees have not returned to work since they last came into contact with the employee so pose no further threat to employees.
“One employee came to work as usual unaware of the positive test at the weekend and was sent home immediately he was identified as having close contact with the employee.
“As a responsible employer, we take the health and wellbeing of our team most seriously and we believe we employ the necessary disciplines and protocols in order to do so safely and effectively.”