Dairy food producer Arla Foods has confirmed nine employees at their factory in Yorkshire has tested positive for coronavirus.
The company, based in Settle, said all workers and contractors onsite will now be tested and remain open this week until the final results are known.
A spokesman for the company said: “With the UK lockdown further easing it is expected that confirmed cases will arise, but taking early precautionary steps will help us in our efforts to contain this.
“All of our sites have continued with production since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Settle site has reported nine confirmed cases in the last week, and whilst this is relatively low, given the close knit community at Settle, the contractors that have been visiting the site for essential work and the short timeframe in which the cases have been confirmed, we have decided to implement full site testing for our colleagues and all contractors.
“This decision has been made with the support of the local authority and Public Health England.”
The company, known for its Scandanavian-based foods, said that additional safety measures have been introduced with shift patterns being altered to reduce cross-contamination.
North Yorkshire County is Council is also working closely with Arla Foods since the outbreak was confirmed.
This is the fourth food manufacturer within the UK to confirm several colleagues testing positive for covid-19 this month.
Dessert factory Baakavor in Newark reported 72 of their workers have the virus, while almost 300 people at sandwich factory, Greencore in Northampton had positive test results.
Global fruit distribution centre Fyffes Group Limited has confirmed an outbreak of coronavirus after 10 staff members tested positive.
All 186 workers at the Coventry-based site at Cross Point Business Park site are now being tested as a precaution.
Brian McLister
