Eighty workers at food plant test positive for coronavirus

O’Brien Fine Foods said it stopped operations at its Timohoe facility at 9pm on Wednesday.

The company has been engaging with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to test all employees after three confirmed cases.

Eighty workers have so far tested positive for Covid-19.

“Of 243 tests completed, 80 have been confirmed as positive for Covid-19. Of the 80 confirmed, the level of asymptomatic infectivity appears to be very high. We are completing testing of a further 42 employees today,” the company said in a statement.

“Those who have tested positive have been advised to isolate as per the official guidance and full risk assessment and contract tracing procedures are under way. All close contacts of those affected are being notified, advised to self-isolate and to contact their GP.”

The company said that it has been following public health guidance throughout the pandemic, including working from home for all non-operations staff, mandatory PPE, perspex screens, staggered shift and break times, a restricted visitor to site policy, daily temperature checking, changing work practices, communications in five languages, and intensive cleaning and sanitisation procedures.

“Given this level of rigour and our comparatively low level of confirmed cases up to this point, this sudden spike is difficult to comprehend,” the company added.