Some 60 members of staff at a pigmeat processing plant in Co. Offaly have tested positive for Covid-19 this week, AgriLand understands.
It is understood that the test results came after all staff members at the Rosderra Meats plant in Edenderry were tested for the virus on Monday and Tuesday of this week (May 11 and May 12).
The plant employs approximately 500 people, including some 400 production staff.
Following the identifications of Covid-19 cases in Roscrea, Rosderra said that the plant would continue operating with a “scaled-down process” in the short-term while affected staff members were self-isolating.
In a statement today, Thursday, May 14, Rosderra said: “The safety and welfare of our employees is of the utmost importance to us and we continue to be extremely vigilant with our protective measures for infection control.
“There is continued open communication with all employees – highlighting each step of our precautionary measures. All communications and briefings to staff are in the relevant languages,” the statement added.
All employees have been informed not to come to work when feeling ill or experiencing Covid-19 symptoms.
The processor said it was continuing to follow advice from the Health Service Executive (HSE), and continues to work with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Clusters
Yesterday, Wednesday, May 13, it was confirmed that the number of clusters of Covid-19 at meat plants has increased from 10 at the weekend to 12 as of yesterday morning.
The Department of Health also said that there have been 571 laboratory-confirmed cases (as of yesterday) linked to these outbreaks, 12 of which resulted in hospitalisation.
This is an increase in both clusters and cases from the figures reported on Friday, May 8, when it was revealed at that point that 566 cases of Covid-19 had been recorded among 10 clusters at meat processing facilities.