Coronavirus outbreak at Norfolk chicken factory sees 75 test positive and 350 families enter self-isolation

A Norfolk chicken factory has partially shut after 75 workers tested positive and hundreds of families entered self-isolation.

A further 39 positive Covid-19 tests were confirmed among the workforce at Banham Poultry in Attleborough on Wednesday after 347 staff were tested.

The county's director of public health, Dr Louise Smith, said it was "now being regarded as a significant national outbreak".

It has sparked fears Norfolk could be the next area of the country to enter local lockdown.

The cutting area of the factory is to close on Thursday morning and staff have been asked to quarantine along with their families.

Dr Smith said: “We are now working with colleagues across the county, regionally and nationally to take specialist advice, including learning from other similar outbreaks in other parts of the UK.

"This will assist us to quickly make decisions on what the next steps will be to prevent further transmission of the virus."

Dr Smith added: "At this stage in our investigation these cases of infection are in staff who work in Banham Poultry and their households."

She said the source of the outbreak has not yet been determined and there were no plans yet for a local lockdown.

At least one factory staff member was taken to hospital but their conditon is not known.

Other areas of the plant - which employs 1,100 people - will remain open for the time being, but Government ministers are set to assess the situation on Thursday.

Norfolk’s Public Health team is working with the management team at Banham Poultry and colleagues at Breckland Council, Public Health England and the Department of Health.

It is the latest in a line of poultry and food processing factories across the UK to experience an outbreak, which has seen hundreds of workers become infected in recent weeks.

In a statement on Tuesday, Blaine van Rensburg, managing director of Banham Poultry said: “The safety of our staff, customers, and the wider public is really important to us and we are working with public health authorities to make sure we are doing absolutely everything we can and following all of the correct procedures.

"We have already invested in a range of procedures and protective equipment to keep our staff as safe as possible.

“The business remains open and operating and we are doing everything we can to prevent the further spread of the virus.”

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