PUBLIC HEALTH WALES (PHW) has said that 200 staff members at 2 Sisters’ Llangefni processing plant have tested positive for coronavirus.
The Anglesey site was closed on Thursday 18 June for two weeks, and all staff and contractors were asked to self-isolate.
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As of 25 June PHW said it had recorded 200 positive cases linked with the poultry production plant after testing more than 450 members of staff.
Positive cases will have to identify close contacts as part of Wales’ “Test Trace and Protect” scheme.
2 Sisters said last week it would close the site, which is predominantly a business-to-business supplier, for two weeks and other company sites would pick up the lost processing capacity.
‘Right thing’
The Llangefni site had remained free of a single case for three months, according to 2 Sisters, which said the closure was the “right thing”.
A spokesman told Poultry.Network last week: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues is ultimately the thing that matters most at our business. We are a responsible company with people at its core.
“Without our people, we are nothing.
“Therefore, in light of the current Covid-19 cases at our Llangefni site, we have decided to take the necessary action to clearly demonstrate how seriously we take this issue by doing the right thing.
“Doing the right thing means from today (Thursday 18 June) we will temporarily suspend production at our Llangefni site with immediate effect for a period of 14 days.”
Increase likely
Christopher Johnson, a consultant at PHW, said on Sunday: “Since we commenced targeted testing last Thursday, over 400 members of staff have provided samples so far.
“Testing of employees continues, and it is likely that some additional cases will be identified in the coming days.
“The increase in cases is as we anticipated when a focused track and trace programme is implemented and does not mean that the spread of infection is increasing.”
This story was updated on 25 July to reflect the latest confirmed case figures
