A UK fruit distribution centre has been hit by a coronavirus outbreak with 10 members of staff testing positive.
All 186 workers at Fyffes Group Limited in Coventry will now be tested as a precaution and social distancing measures will be increased.
Fyffes - which operates in Europe, North, Central and South America - is one of the world’s largest fruit companies and describes itself as Europe’s number one banana supplier.
It specialises in growing, sourcing, shipping, ripening, distributing and marketing bananas, pineapples and melons.
The firm - which employs more than 6,000 people around the world - is now working closely with public health officials at Coventry City Council, Public Health England (PHE) Midlands and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to contain the virus.
Liz Gaulton, director of Public Health at Coventry City Council, said the confirmed cases shows the fight against Covid-19 is far from over, reports CoventryLive.
She said: “Fyffes have been open and cooperative with us and have followed our advice and guidance in how to deal with this unfortunate situation.
“We have advised that all 186-staff at the centre are tested as a precaution and the measures that have been implemented mean we are happy for the business to continue to open as normal at this time.
“Incidents like this show that the fight against Covid-19 is not over and that we all have a role to play in preventing the spread of the virus.
“No one can be complacent. By not following guidance you could be spreading the virus without knowing it putting other people at risk. If you show any Covid-19 symptoms – no matter how mild – you should book a test immediately, either online or by calling 119.”
Dr Mamoona Tahir, consultant in communicable disease control with PHE Midlands, said: “The management at Fyffes Group Ltd are cooperating fully with public health professionals and members of the HSE, to protect the health and wellbeing of their workforce and wider public health.
“Despite putting a range of infection control measures in place to protect staff from potential exposure to Covid-19, there have been a number of cases among workers. We are therefore liaising with management, the local authority and the Health & Safety Executive to advise on increased social distancing measures.
“We are also supporting arrangement to test the entire workforce and will work with the company and public health partners to review any further actions, once results are received.”
A spokesman for Fyffes, whose head office is in Dublin, added: “The management of Fyffes Group Ltd is working closely with the Public Health team at Coventry City Council and Public Health England (PHE) Midlands, following a number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 among people working at our Coventry facility.
“The safety of all our workers is our number one priority and a number of actions to tackle this outbreak have been agreed and are currently being implemented.”
As of today, there have been 57 confirmed cases in Coventry in the past seven days at a rate of 15.34 per 100,000, almost double the rate of Solihull’s (8.32) and four times the rate of Warwickshire (4.67), and higher than the West Midlands region (11). However the 408.60 overall rate per 100,000 is lower than all four.
