A meat factory in northern England owned by retailer Asda reportedly has a number of Covid-19 cases but remains operational.
Seventeen workers have tested positive at the Forza Foods facility in Normanton, West Yorkshire, with further potential cases under investigation, according to the BBC, which added a further 300 staff have been offered tests and have been told to self-isolate.
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The news service quoted an Asda spokesperson as saying local health authorities were “satisfied with the safety precautions” in place.
Another media report said the Leeds-headquartered supermarket had been in consultation with Public Health England, Wakefield Council and the Health and Safety Executive amid the outbreak.
“As soon as we became aware that some colleagues had tested positive we alerted the relevant authorities,” the Asda spokesperson told the BBC. “The number of colleagues that have tested positive represents just 1% of the total workforce at the site and almost all are employed on one particular shift.”
The spokesperson said the local authority and the Health and Safety Executive had both inspected the site on Devilliers Way, which employs more than 1,000 people to slice and pack cooked meat.
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By GlobalDataAnother of Asda’s meat suppliers, Kober Ltd., which the retailer acquired in 2016 along with Forza, had also earlier been hit by the virus. That plant, located in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, was forced to close temporarily after more than 100 employees tested positive but then reopened on a reduced-capacity basis in June.
