Most cases were asymptomatic, local public health team says
Zoe Tidman
More than 170 people have tested positive for Covid-19 at a meat plant in Cornwall(Getty Images)
More than 170 people at a meat processing plant in Cornwall have tested positive for Covid-19.
Hundreds of staff were tested at the food factory in Pool, a village near Redruth.
Most of the positive cases at the Pilgrim's Pride meat plant were asymptomatic, according to the local public health team.
The company says it has introduced additional measures and checks its compliance with Covid-19 controls on a daily basis.
An alert to the national test and trace service from a single member of staff led to 500 colleagues at the plant being tested.
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More than 170 people at a meat processing plant in Cornwall have tested positive for Covid-19.
Hundreds of staff were tested at the food factory in Pool, a village near Redruth.
Most of the positive cases at the Pilgrim's Pride meat plant were asymptomatic, according to the local public health team.
The company says it has introduced additional measures and checks its compliance with Covid-19 controls on a daily basis.
An alert to the national test and trace service from a single member of staff led to 500 colleagues at the plant being tested.
Read more
Coronavirus: Yorkshire meat factory locked down after becoming centre of outbreak
A spokesperson for Pilgrim's Pride added: "From the outset we have worked conscientiously to do all we can to protect our workforce and the local community.
"Our teams have been working extremely hard in collaboration with the local authority and public health to manage this challenging situation, and have bravely conducted themselves with professionalism and integrity as they continue to play their important role in maintaining the UK food supply chain."
Rachel Wigglesworth, interim director for public health for Cornwall Council, said her team had strengthened the “local Covid-19 contact tracing approach to help detect cases early, prevent spread and support people to self-isolate”.
“We've quickly identified and tested hundreds of people, and in finding people who weren't displaying symptoms we have potentially stopped much wider spread in our communities,” she said.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation and appreciate the cooperation of Pilgrim's Pride Ltd. and their employees.”
It is not the first time coronavirus clusters have been reported at food factories in the UK.
A chicken plant in Wales temporarily shut in June after more than 150 employees tested positive.
Around the same time, a meat-packing plant in West Yorkshire dealt with a Covid-19 outbreak.
Additional reporting by Press Association
A spokesperson for Pilgrim's Pride added: "From the outset we have worked conscientiously to do all we can to protect our workforce and the local community.
"Our teams have been working extremely hard in collaboration with the local authority and public health to manage this challenging situation, and have bravely conducted themselves with professionalism and integrity as they continue to play their important role in maintaining the UK food supply chain."
Rachel Wigglesworth, interim director for public health for Cornwall Council, said her team had strengthened the “local Covid-19 contact tracing approach to help detect cases early, prevent spread and support people to self-isolate”.
“We've quickly identified and tested hundreds of people, and in finding people who weren't displaying symptoms we have potentially stopped much wider spread in our communities,” she said.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation and appreciate the cooperation of Pilgrim's Pride Ltd. and their employees.”
It is not the first time coronavirus clusters have been reported at food factories in the UK.
A chicken plant in Wales temporarily shut in June after more than 150 employees tested positive.
Around the same time, a meat-packing plant in West Yorkshire dealt with a Covid-19 outbreak.
Additional reporting by Press Association
Pilgrim’s Pride factory has more than 170 cases of coronavirus, tests confirm
A single alert led to the discovery of the infections at the former Tulip premises at Pool
Lee Trewhela Chief reporter
30 SEP 2020
It has been verified by Cornwall Council’s public health team that over 170 staff at the Pilgrim’s Pride food factory in Pool have tested positive for COVID-19.
A single alert from the national NHS Test and Trace service resulted in the identification of more than 170 cases among staff at Pilgrim's Pride – which bought bacon producer Tulip last year – who were unaware that they had the virus and were not displaying symptoms
The public health team provided an update on the situation at a meeting of the COVID-19 Local Outbreak Engagement Board yesterday (Tuesday, September 29) and outlined what they said was intensive testing being carried out to help limit the transmission of the virus.
A spokesman said the council's public health team along with Public Health England SW and the NHS have been working closely with Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd in order to take proactive action to reduce the likelihood of transmission in the local community.
The spokesman added: “The public health team provides an enhanced contract tracing service where they contact the individual identified to us by NHS Test and Trace and interview them about their recent activities. In this case the individual revealed to us that they worked at the factory, and so further investigations were carried out and testing procedures
In total, almost 500 employees at the factory have been tested and the vast majority of the cases who tested positive were not displaying symptoms.
Swift identification of the initial case has helped to limit the transmission of COVID-19 in the local community. All employees who have tested positive are isolating in line with government guidelines, as are those found to have been in close contact with them.
The information on cases of coronavirus in Cornwall is updated weekly and can be found here. The data shows a sharp rise in cases in Cornwall over the past two weeks, the majority of which can be attributed to this outbreak.
A representative from Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd said: “These are the first positive cases we have experienced at our site in Redruth since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the UK and appear to coincide with the outbreaks seen more widely around the county.
“To put this into context, we have seen significantly more cases of COVID-19 in Cornwall over the past 14 days than we have experienced within our business of 6,000 employees located in 13 sites across the UK – including Manchester, West Midlands and Leicestershire – since the onset of this pandemic.
“We recognise our role and responsibilities within our community and continue to follow and exceed government guidelines as we have been since March when COVID-19 restrictions were introduced. We have also implemented additional measures where they bring benefit to particular situations. We audit our own compliance of all COVID-19 controls daily.
“From the outset we have worked conscientiously to do all we can to protect our workforce and the local community. Our teams have been working extremely hard in collaboration with the local authority and public health to manage this challenging situation, and have bravely conducted themselves with professionalism and integrity as they continue to play their important role in maintaining the UK food supply chain.”
Julian German, leader of Cornwall Council, added: “This case demonstrates how the strategy of proactive testing is helping us to take action quickly to limit the spread of COVID in our communities. The council’s public health team review the situation daily and if any additional actions are needed the team stands ready to put them in place quickly.
“Our key message to residents is that we all need to play our part in limiting the virus – by following the guidance and doing our bit to protect ourselves and each other.”
Rachel Wigglesworth, interim director for public health for Cornwall Council, said: “Our team has been working tirelessly since the beginning of the pandemic, and have strengthened our local COVID-19 contact tracing approach to help detect cases early, prevent spread and support people to self-isolate.
“We’ve quickly identified and tested hundreds of people, and in finding people who weren’t displaying symptoms we have potentially stopped much wider spread in our communities. We continue to closely monitor the situation and appreciate the cooperation of Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd. and their employees.
“It’s really important that everyone, no matter where they live Cornwall, follows the government guidance of good hand hygiene, wearing of face masks in enclosed public spaces, keeping two metres apart, and not gathering in groups of more than six people, to help us stop the spread of the virus.
“If anyone does develop symptoms, which include a new continuous cough, high temperature or loss or change to their sense of taste or smell, they should self-isolate straight away and book a test. Please stay at home until you receive the results. If they are positive, please make sure you isolate for 10 days, and close contacts or people you live with should isolate for 14 days.”
Covid-hit factory Pilgrim's Pride slammed for discarded PPE and poor distancing
'The staff were stood outside across the path in big groups smoking, chucking their masks, gloves, hairnets, tissues, cans, etc, all along that stretch of road. It's disgusting and very unhygienic
Charlotte Becquart 27 SEP 2020
A food factory in Cornwall hit by an outbreak of coronavirus has been slammed by members of the public who claim appropriate measures to stop the spread of the virus are not being taken.
In the last couple of weeks several coronavirus cases were confirmed at Pilgrim's Pride in Pool, with staff members claiming that as many as 88 employees tested positive last Saturday alone.
Pilgrim's Pride, which bought bacon producer Tulip last year, confirmed that staff members at its site in Pool, between Redruth and Camborne, have tested positive for the virus.
However the company has not confirmed how many have tested positive.
After the news broke, several members of the public contacted Cornwall Live about discarded PPE and a lack of distancing measures at the factory.
Pilgrims Pride said that all of its employees are reminded about their obligations as responsible members of the local community.
A woman who lives nearby and wishes to remain anonymous said: "I want to make known the mess outside of Tulip (Pilgrim's Pride) in Pool, Cornwall (...). I walked past the building last night with my dog and there is no social distancing within the staff.
"The staff were stood outside across the path in big groups smoking, chucking their masks, gloves, hairnets, tissues, cans, etc, all along that stretch of road. It's disgusting and very unhygienic.
"People have to walk past there. It's no wonder they have a case of Covid there. They need to be shut down and it needs to be deep cleaned, it is absolutely gross. I think this should be made public knowledge for everyone's safety as they obviously are not taking the virus seriously."
Former employee, Jason Kay said he left the factory after working there for a month over concerns about what he saw as a lack of protective measures against the potential spread of Covid-19.
'The staff were stood outside across the path in big groups smoking, chucking their masks, gloves, hairnets, tissues, cans, etc, all along that stretch of road. It's disgusting and very unhygienic
Charlotte Becquart 27 SEP 2020
A food factory in Cornwall hit by an outbreak of coronavirus has been slammed by members of the public who claim appropriate measures to stop the spread of the virus are not being taken.
In the last couple of weeks several coronavirus cases were confirmed at Pilgrim's Pride in Pool, with staff members claiming that as many as 88 employees tested positive last Saturday alone.
Pilgrim's Pride, which bought bacon producer Tulip last year, confirmed that staff members at its site in Pool, between Redruth and Camborne, have tested positive for the virus.
However the company has not confirmed how many have tested positive.
After the news broke, several members of the public contacted Cornwall Live about discarded PPE and a lack of distancing measures at the factory.
Pilgrims Pride said that all of its employees are reminded about their obligations as responsible members of the local community.
A woman who lives nearby and wishes to remain anonymous said: "I want to make known the mess outside of Tulip (Pilgrim's Pride) in Pool, Cornwall (...). I walked past the building last night with my dog and there is no social distancing within the staff.
"The staff were stood outside across the path in big groups smoking, chucking their masks, gloves, hairnets, tissues, cans, etc, all along that stretch of road. It's disgusting and very unhygienic.
"People have to walk past there. It's no wonder they have a case of Covid there. They need to be shut down and it needs to be deep cleaned, it is absolutely gross. I think this should be made public knowledge for everyone's safety as they obviously are not taking the virus seriously."
Former employee, Jason Kay said he left the factory after working there for a month over concerns about what he saw as a lack of protective measures against the potential spread of Covid-19.
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