Coupar Angus food processing plant closed after coronavirus cluster

A food processing plant in Perth and Kinross has been closed after four staff members tested positive for Covid-19.

Two other workers at Coupar Angus’ 2 Sisters facility await the results of a virus test.

NHS Tayside said there were two linked cases in the community and arrangements were underway to test other employees.

Two sisters said the temporary move was “the responsible action to take.”

The NHS Tayside public health department was alerted to the outbreak on Sunday.

The management of the poultry factory, which employs around 1,000 people, made the decision last night to temporarily close the factory.

It is understood that a factory manager may have caught the virus from a close relative, who is not an employee of the factory.

The company said in a statement: ‘Our priority remains the safety and well-being of all our colleagues, and we will be reviewing the situation closely in partnership with the relevant regional and national Scottish Covid-19 task forces before restarting the production.

“The facility had been in operation for six months previously without any positive cases of Covid-19 having been recorded.”

‘Act quickly’

An Incident Management team works with the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland and local environmental health teams to provide advice and support.

Deputy Prime Minister John Swinney said: “Where clusters of cases grow, we need to find them and act quickly to prevent the spread.

“Tayside’s public health teams are responding quickly to this outbreak and we are working closely with them, Food Standards Scotland and Perth and Kinross Council to discuss any appropriate measures to contain this cluster.