Coronavirus outbreak at Moy Park factory in Ballymena

The meat company confirmed there had been an outbreak at the site this afternoon following a query from the News Letter.

Workers and trade union representatives hadn’t been made aware of the outbreak before lunchtime.

The Public Health Agency, meanwhile, confirmed to the News Letter on Wednesday morning that it was “aware of a number of cases in the Ballymena area that may be associated with a cluster.”

A spokesperson for the agency said that it will “monitor the situation”.

Moy Park said that those affected by the outbreak have been “self-isolating on full pay” and insisted “staff safety is our number one priority”.

The company said only “a very small number” had tested positive for the virus.

Laura Graham, from the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union, spoke to the News Letter about the outbreak this afternoon.

“As of right now, there hasn’t been anything from the company,” she said.

The union representative added: “I will be looking for the workers in the areas affected to be sent home with no loss of earnings, because these people are going to have to isolate themselves. I would expect no less.”

A spokesperson for Moy Park said: “We have been informed that a very small number of our employees in the Ballymena site have tested positive for coronavirus.

“The individuals affected have been self-isolating on full pay in line with our Covid sick pay scheme and we are in contact with them to ensure they have the support they require.”

The spokesperson added: “We continue to work closely with the Public Health Agency and other government agencies, following their advice and protocols.”

It is not the first time the company has found itself in the headlines regarding coronavirus.

In March, trade union members staged a walk out at the Moy Park site at Seagoe in Portadown over safety concerns.

In May, a woman in her 50s who worked on the production line at the Moy Park meat factory in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, passed away after testing positive for the virus.

Union official Sean McKeever, from the Unite trade union, said: “We highlighted, at an early stage, that measures had to be put in place and it took around two weeks before Moy Park put any measures in place. Between that time it potentially put workers at risk.

“While we welcome the measures that Moy Park have put in place, we hope and expect these stringent measures will be kept up to the highest level and standards.”

A company spokesperson highlighted the measures in place to protect staff, saying: “As coronavirus has spread across the communities in which we live, we are doing all that we can to help keep the virus out of our facilities and help prevent its spread.

“Staff safety is our number one priority and we continue to strictly follow all safeguarding procedures across our sites, such as enhanced cleaning and hygiene regimes, thermal temperature scanning, perspex screens, additional personal protective equipment and social distancing measures.”

The Ballymena outbreak comes after 16 coronavirus ‘clusters’ were identified in Northern Ireland since May 22, with the latest arising following a social gathering at a house in the Limavady area.

Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw, who sits on the health committee at Stormont, has urged health authorities to release more information about each cluster.

“I myself had asked Assembly Questions about the nature of apparent outbreaks in particular locations, and about what we were learning from contact tracing, and was assured these were just matters of increased transmission,” she said.

“Now it turns out that the recently publicised case near Limavady is one of 16 since 22 May. The issue is we have not been informed about the nature of these clusters and, particularly, how they originated.

“A public health emergency needs public support and therefore good public information. That means the public must be fully informed about the types of behaviour which have proven particularly dangerous in terms of leading to super-spreading events.

“I would therefore urge the minister to ensure the Public Health Agency publishes information about the nature of each cluster and what we can learn from it.”

A spokesperson for the Public Health Agency said it would not “go into the detail of every incident that emerges” to avoid identifying people and deterring people from coming forward.

The agency spokesperson added: “To date the majority of clusters that have occurred have been managed effectively through the contact tracing programme, and where we need to advise or inform the public of any increased risk to public health we will do so in a timely manner.”