Lockdown farm
200 staff quarantined at family vegetable business after 73 test positive for coronavirus in outbreak
A fArm supplying vegetables to Britain’s major supermarket chains has been quarantined after 73 workers tested positive for coronavirus.
The outbreak means all 200 seasonal workers at the family farm in Herefordshire have been put into isolation.
The group, who live in mobile homes at the site and work in close proximity to each other, is being treated as ‘one extended bubble’.
They have been ordered to selfisolate in household groups for 14 days to stop the disease spreading. It follows a pattern of coronavirus outbreaks at food production facilities both across the UK and worldwide.
Vegetable producer AS Green and Co, which is based in the village of mathon, near Worcester, said the site was closed and no workers were allowed to leave.
The farm, run by Andrew Green, his wife Caroline and son Tom said in a statement the advice from Public Health England is 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 produces broccoli and beans which it supplies to supermarkets including Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and marks and Spencer. Workers – believed to include a significant number from eastern Europe – live on the farm in mobile homes equipped with toilets, showers and kitchen facilities. Staff share accommodation and there is a communal building with a pool table, darts board and television, where they can socialise. The company had hoped to avoid an outbreak through a system of on- site testing, social distancing in communal and packing areas, encouraging face coverings in ‘closed areas’ and handwashing.
However, the farm alerted health officials after some workers complained of symptoms.
Katie Spence, PHE’s midlands Health Protection Director, said the outbreak was revealed when ‘a small number of workers became symptomatic’ last week.
She said: ‘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. We are still awaiting a few final results, but currently we have 73 positive cases of Covid-19 among the workforce.’
The local authority is arranging for food and essential supplies to be brought to the farm. further testing of company management and visitors to the farm have so far produced negative results.
A statement on the company’s website said it would ‘continue to follow’ expert guidance to ensure ‘spread of the virus is controlled and our workforce is supported’.