COVID ‘WILL RISE’ AFTER MEAT PLANT OUTBREAKS
HEALTH MINISTER WARNS OF EXPECTED INCREASE IN CORONAVIRUS CASES IN WALES AFTER MEAT FACTORY CLUSTERS
WALES will see an increase in cases of coronavirus because of the outbreaks at three meat factories, Health Minister Vaughan Gething warned yesterday.
There have been fewer than 100 cases each day in the first weeks of June, but that is expected to increase in the coming days because of the cluster that has been confirmed in Merthyr Tydfil and the outbreaks on Anglesey and Wrexham.
Some 34 cases have been confirmed at the Kepak plant in Merthyr Tydfil, as first reported in yesterday’s Echo, as well as more than 200 cases at the 2 Sisters site in Llangefni on Angelsey, and another outbreak at Rowan Foods plant in Wrexham, where 70 cases have been confirmed.
Mr Gething said: “Cases of coronavirus are generally continuing to fall across Wales – we have seen fewer than 100 cases each day in the first few weeks of June.
“However, we can expect to see some increases in cases as a result of these outbreaks.
“These outbreaks show that we all need to continue to take coronavirus very seriously – it has not gone away.”
Outbreaks in meat and food processing plants have been a feature of the coronavirus pandemic around the world.
There have been large scale outbreaks affecting thousands of people in the US, Canada and Germany. The outbreak in Germany has affected more than 1,300 employees at a meatpacking
plant and has seen lockdown restrictions being re-imposed in the local area for a week.
Mr Gething said: “These declarations follow a UK and worldwide pattern during the current global pandemic of the meat and food processing sector being susceptible to Covid-19, which has resulted in local hotspots.
“Whilst all necessary action is being taken to control and prevent the spread of the virus from person to person, I would like to emphasise that there is no evidence that coronavirus survives in food.”
He added: “These outbreaks show that we all need to continue to take coronavirus very seriously – it has not gone away.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Mr Gething said: “It is still the case that coronavirus is falling in Wales as well,
but these flare ups are possible over the rest of our journey.
“The positive news is that coronavirus is still reducing in Wales. We have to act aggressively with these flare ups which is why we have tested quite so many people and we have managed to do it quickly.
“It is still going down, which is why we still have some headroom but why we are still taking a very cautious approach. The outbreak on Anglesey underscores that approach and why it is the right thing to do.
“People should follow the guidance to keep Wales safe.”
Public Health Wales is chairing daily outbreak control teams and is working in partnership with the employers, local authorities, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Food Standards Agency (FSA), and Health Boards to ensure all necessary public health action is taken.
Mr Gething said: “We are making progress, but the point about all this is that coronavirus has not gone away.
“It is really important that people don’t get complacent and start taking higher risk moves. It is because we are following the guidance that we are seeing reductions.
“I am afraid until we get a vaccine, this is far from over and the outbreaks show was does happen with coronarvirus if we do allow it back into the community or workplace.”
Meanwhile, Peter Hughes, Unite union’s Welsh secretary, said some workers at meat processing plants dealing with coronavirus outbreaks were avoiding being tested over concerns of going on to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
Mr Hughes said: “You don’t get paid for the first three days, if you have been identified as having the virus you will have to stay home for two weeks.
“That means, no pay for the first three days and then £93 a week after that. People are actively trying not to get tested.
“If they get tested and they test positive, and they share houses with other workers, those workers have to self isolate for two weeks too, so the key is for people to be paid proper sick pay.”
Responding to these claims, Mr Gething said: “We know there is anecdotal evidence that some people are making different choices if they don’t have full, contractual sick pay, and if they do have to go on to SSP.”
He said it is an issue that has been raised with the UK Government, as some people could have to choose between heating, eating and paying their bills, or doing the right thing by their country and community by self isolating.
He said: “The advice from the Welsh Government is very clear – people must self isolate, but there has to be a conversation with employers about the public health impact, and about the impact on their businesses if there is a larger group of their own workers who are directly affected.”
Trade unions, health sector and the employers will meet to have guidance in place by the end of this week.
Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts highlighted the three meat-processing plants outbreaks at Prime Minister’s Question Time yesterday and she urged the UK Government to increase statutory sick pay for workers having to self-isolate.
She drew attention to Germany where sick pay is 100% of salary whereas for many low paid workers in the UK it it is only 20%.
Mr Johnson replied: “As I said in my statement yesterday... the coronavirus job retention scheme – the furlough scheme – what we’ve done for selfemployed people which has also been very considerable, the expansion of Universal Credit.
“These have been massive commitments by our Government to the workforce of this country.
“We will continue to make those commitments and I stress, as I said yesterday, if we have to move back, and obviously we don’t want to... to local or indeed national lockdowns then nobody should be penalised for doing the right thing. So, that’s her answer.”