70 workers hit by Covid in farm outbreak
MORE than 70 workers have tested positive for coronavirus at a farm that supplies vegetables to Waitrose, M&S, Sainsbury’s and other big supermarket chains.
AS Green and Co said 73 of its 200 workers had so far been told they have the disease, with a few results still to come.
The company insisted on its website there was little to no risk to consumers’ health.
It stated: “Public Health England (PHE) advises that it is very unlikely Covid-19 can be transmitted through food or food packaging, so shoppers can remain confident buying British fruit and veg.”
The 1,000-acre farm, in Mathon, Herefordshire, has been put on lockdown, and staff, who live in mobile homes on site, are segregated into household “bubbles”.
They are employed to carry out picking and packing work at the farm, which also supplies Aldi, Asda and Tesco – and specialises in niche crops such as runner beans, tenderstem broccoli and broad beans.
Supplies
Herefordshire Council is arranging food and other essential supplies to be delivered to workers as they isolate.
AS Green said: “Our staff are our priority, they are hardworking key workers helping provide food for the country during these unusual times.
“We contacted PHE and we are working closely with them and public health staff at Herefordshire Council to prevent the spread of Covid-19.”
The outbreak is the first of its kind in Britain but is “not unexpected”, said Karen Wright, director of public health for Herefordshire.
She added: “Our priority is to protect the health and wellbeing of all residents in our community.
“Prompt testing on the farm has allowed us to understand transmission and control the spread of infection.
“We continue to support the farm management, their workers – who form an important part of our local economy – and the local community through this challenging time.” Official figures yesterday showed a further 15 people who tested positive for coronavirus had died in hospitals in England – bringing the total to 29,066.
The latest victims were aged 72 to 96, with the eldest having no known underlying conditions. In Scotland there were no deaths for the fourth day in a row. Wales also reported no fatalities. Meanwhile Katie Spence, health protection director for PHE Midlands, said: “At this phase of the pandemic, we still expect to see cases in the community and within settings where people are closer together, such as workplaces.
“It is why the test-and-trace system is important, to help us pick up on any potential problems and swiftly to take remedial
action to reduce spread.” She said her team were “working closely with the management at AS Green and Co to support the health and wellbeing of their workforce and wider public health”.
She added: “The company has put in place a range of infection control measures to try to reduce the risk of staff being exposed to Covid-19.”
These include testing on site, promoting social distancing in communal areas and the indoor packaging area, providing protective clothing (PPE) for staff where applicable, encouraging regular handwashing for at least 20 seconds and promoting the use of face coverings in closed areas, she said.
But she added: “Despite these measures, a small number of workers became symptomatic earlier this week and they and a few close contacts among the workforce were tested initially and found to be positive.
“In line with NHS guidance, affected individuals were asked to self-isolate for seven days – with their households and close contacts asked to isolate for 14 days.
“As we have seen a global trend of large food producers being subject to outbreaks, as a precautionary measure, the decision was made to test the entire workforce.
“The initial batch of results showed a significant percentage of positive cases, despite these individuals being asymptomatic.
“We are still awaiting a few final results, but currently we have 73 positive cases of Covid-19 among the workforce.”