Eight confirmed cases of coronavirus at a food processing plant in Wales have been recorded after hundreds of staff were tested.
Earlier this week it was revealed Public Health Wales (PHW) were investigating cases of Covid-19 in staff at the Zorba Delicacies Ltd food processing plant in Ebbw Vale. Initially they said there had been four cases but that was later revised to five prior to mass testing taking place.
Now, after testing 476 employees at the plant, a further three people were found to have a positive test result with one other probable case also deteced.
Dr Rhianwen Stiff, consultant in communicable disease control for PHW, announced on Friday evening that the three positive cases were found after tests were arranged for the workforce. Contact tracing on the three individuals who tested positive has already begun.
Dr Stiff described the low number of positive test results as a "very good outcome" and said no outbreak has been declared.
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She added: "This is a very good outcome and we wish to thank Zorba Delicacies Ltd for their full cooperation.
“Investigations are ongoing as to the possible cause of the incident and no firm conclusions can be reached at this early stage. No outbreak has been declared.
“Close contacts of confirmed cases have been contacted through the Test, Trace, Protect process and provided with additional advice for themselves, household, and other contacts.
“As we move into the recovery phase of the coronavirus pandemic we expect to see clusters in settings such as workplaces.
"We manage any cluster of coronavirus appropriately, including by providing advice around infection prevention and control and by supporting contact tracing where required."
There have been several outbreaks and small clusters of cases found in food processing plants across Wales over the last few weeks. First Minister Mark Drakeford has said that it is not just a Welsh phenomenon but is a "global issue".
The Food Standards Agency advise that it is very unlikely that you can catch coronavirus from food. Dr Stiff added: "Covid-19 is a respiratory illness. It is not known to be transmitted by exposure to food or food packaging."
