Coronavirus: Factory workers in refrigerated environments at ‘greater risk of getting COVID’

People working in refrigerated environments in food factories could be at a higher risk of contracting coronavirus, a microbiologist has told Sky News.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 across the UK in recent weeks have forced the closure of several food production sites, including confirmed cases at a number of factories in the last few days.

The Kober meat factory in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, suspended work after a coronavirus outbreak, while 58 workers at a chicken processing site on Anglesey, North Wales, have also tested positive.

And another outbreak saw 38 infections at a food factory in Wrexham.

Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, told Sky News: “There are two possible explanations.

“The first one is that people aren’t observing proper distancing and working together.

“But then if that were the case, why would you see it only in food processing plants and not other factories?

“I think a more likely explanation may well be the cold – these places tend to be refrigerated. If these places are refrigerated, do you get an increased susceptibility to infection like you get during the winter with the cold?

“The truth is, we don’t really know.

“But my suspicion is it’s got something to do with the cold, refrigerated environment in food factories.”

Asda, who operate the site at Cleckheaton, confirmed it has voluntarily closed the facility while every member of staff there is tested for coronavirus.

Andy Hair, who lives less than half a mile from the factory, told Sky News that he has regularly seen large groups of people leaving the site together.

He described the end of the shifts during lockdown, when workers were “all just walking down together, just on mass”.

Mr Hair said there are often “groups of 10 to 12 people at a time and no efforts at social distancing”.

“It seems that all the people working there will be living locally, travelling locally, going into Cleckheaton to the bus station, getting on public transport and it seems crazy for nobody to be told this is happening,” he said.

Asda said it “responded swiftly” as soon as it became aware of the outbreak, but doctors and local officials were left furious after only finding out about it during the government’s daily coronavirus briefing.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Thursday’s press conference in Downing Street that there had been a localised outbreak in the Kirklees area of West Yorkshire.

Local GP Dr Jools Thomas said she was “slack-jawed” at finding out about the situation from the TV.

Tracey Brabin, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, said it was “astounding” that Mr Hancock would announce a virus outbreak during the daily briefing, adding it was “thoughtless, sloppy and unhelpful”.

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Earlier this week, the 2 Sisters factory in Llangefni, Anglesey, which supplies several supermarkets across the UK, halted production until 2 July and told all 560 employees to self-isolate after 58 people there tested positive.

Rowan Foods’s factory in Wrexham, which works with high street bakery chain Greggs and Subway, has a track and trace system in place after 38 positive cases out of a total 1,500 workers.

A spokesman for Oscar Mayer, which runs the plant, said nobody was seriously ill or admitted to hospital.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Factory workers in refrigerated environments at ‘greater risk of getting COVID’