THE number of workers who have tested positive for coronavirus at Evesham Vale Growers Ltd has grown to 26 out of a workforce of 340.
They are employed to carry out packing work vital to the UK food supply chain and the local economy.
The company has advised staff, who do not live at the site, to remain at home and self-isolate for 14 days, in line with national guidance for contacts of positive cases.
The company is based at Blackminster, 20 miles from Redditch.
Dr Adrian Phillips, consultant in communicable disease control with PHE Midlands, said: “We are working closely with the local authority and the management at Evesham Vale Growers Limited to support the health and wellbeing of the workforce and wider public health.
“At this stage of the pandemic we expect to see cases in the community and within settings where people are closer together, such as workplaces, which is why the Test and Trace system is important, to help us pick up on any potential problems and take swift remedial action to reduce spread.
“As we have seen a global trend of large food producers being subject to outbreaks, as a precautionary measure, the entire workforce will be tested again later this week.”
The Food Standards Agency advises that it is highly unlikely that Covid-19 can be contracted from food, and advises that cooking will thoroughly kill the virus.
