Fifty workers at the Moy Park poultry plant in Anwick, U.K., are self-isolating at home with full pay after testing positive for COVID-19.
About 2,400 people are employed at the plant.
A company spokesman told Lincolnshire Live: “We are doing all that we can to help keep the virus out of our facilities and help prevent its spread. Our continued focus is the safety of our staff. Those affected having been self-isolating on full pay in line with our COVID sick pay scheme and we are in regular contact with them to ensure they have the support they require.”
“As (the) coronavirus has spread across the communities in which we live, we are doing all that we can to help keep the virus out of our facilities and help prevent its spread.”
The company, which is a subsidiary of Pilgrim’s Pride, said it was working closely with Public Health England, and that health agency officials were satisfied that Moy Park has the necessary protective measures in place. Those safeguarding procesdures include enhanced cleaning and hygiene regimes, thermal temperature scanning, one-way systems, Perspex screens, additional personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing measures.
In June, Moy Park announced that it had invested more than GBP4 million (US$5 million) in safety and supportive measures to protect its staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also released a video of the safety measures that are in place.
According to the Poultry International Top Companies Survey, Moy Park is the second largest poultry company in the U.K. and the eighth largest poultry company in Europe. It processes both chicken and turkey products. The company has 12 processing plants, two further processing plants and slaughters 321 million birds on an annual basis.
Prior to being acquired by Pilgrim’s Pride in 2017, Moy Park was owned by JBS, which bought the company from Marfrig Global Foods.
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