Staff at a food factory which has seen 237 cases of coronavirus so far have claimed they begged bosses to shut it down.

Public health bosses have desperately been trying to trace workers for testing from Rowan Foods in Wrexham, north Wales, which has become a local hotspot for the virus.

The major plant, which processes food for supermarkets across the UK including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, employs more than 1,000 people on the Wrexham Industrial Estate.

And now staff have come forward to the media to claim they had asked for the factory to close down amid fears they would catch Covid-19.

One woman who works at the plant, who chose to remain anonymous, told The Sun: ‘I am sick with worry. I’ve asked my bosses if we can shut down until the infections have come down, but no one is listening. They care more about the firm making money.

Visit our live blog for the latest updates: Coronavirus news live

‘I now know dozens of friends and colleagues who have had it and I guess it’s only a matter of time before I get it too.’

The woman, who is in her 20s and from Poland, said she and her colleagues ‘worry like mad’ about getting sick, and said closing the factory would be the sensible thing to do until the outbreak is back under control.

She also told the website that while the majority of staff wear gloves while working in the plant, few chose to wear masks.

Another anonymous worker from Poland claimed it would be ‘impossible’ for health bosses to track down the remaining workers, and that most of the plant’s 1,000 workers are recruited from Eastern European nations on minimum wage, and often quit within the first few months.

They added: ‘Most workers only last a few months but back home there is always another plane load waiting to take our places.’

So far there have been 237 positive cases of Covid-19 from the factory, but 100 more workers still need to be tested.

Rowan Foods has said the site will not be closing following a two-day health and safety inspection, but the plant has been contacted for further comment over the workers’ claims.

A spokesperson said everyone on site was tested last week: ‘We are aware that Public Health Wales has previously said that it is trying to trace 300 missing employees. 

‘We are extremely puzzled by this as we provided the Public Health Wales testing unit with a list of nearly 300 colleagues who were not on site and would not be for some time, for reasons such as shielding, maternity leave, long term sick and isolation.’

They earlier told the BBC workers are asked to ‘maintain social distancing wherever practically possible, and have also included new mitigations such as screens and visors’.

In a statement Public Health Wales said: ‘We are working with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to urgently contact just over 300 workers that have not yet presented for testing. 

‘As we would expect with any focused track and trace process, we will identify additional asymptomatic cases. Finding these cases does not mean that the rate of infection in the Wrexham area is increasing as a whole.

‘There is no evidence that Rowan Foods is the source of the outbreak. 

‘The multi-agency team managing the outbreak with Public Health Wales will continue to review the situation and work with the employer, their workforce and wider community to bring this outbreak to a swift conclusion.’

Public Health Wales confirmed it has have so far managed to trace around 200 workers and found they were either shielding or not working during the outbreak. 

Councillor Carrie Harper, of Plaid Cymru, called on the Welsh Government to step in and close the factory down and furlough staff in a statement.

She said: ‘In light of the increasing numbers of workers testing positive at Rowan Foods, up 28% in 24 hours, it’s important that the authorities move swiftly to contain this and ensure it does not transmit into the local community. More than a quarter of those tested have now tested positive. 

‘One of the problems facing workers is that if they self-isolate they will lose out on income. That’s why I’m calling on the Welsh Government to introduce a modified temporary furlough scheme for workers in affected outbreak factories.’

It comes months after workers at the factory walked out in protest over an alleged lack of PPE from the virus.

The Rowan Foods outbreak, and another cluster of cases around the Anglesey 2 Sisters abattoir, have so far accounted for more than 300 coronavirus infections.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article