// 292 staff test positive for Covid-19 at M&S’s sandwich supplier in Northampton and are forced into self-isolation
// 79 workers were tested positive via NHS tests
// Private tests carried out by the suppler, Greencore, came back with 213 positive results
Nearly 300 workers at one of Marks & Spencer’s sandwich suppliers have tested positive for coronavirus amid a spike in local infections.
According to The Guardian, Northampton-based supplier Greencore said 292 staff members have tested positive for Covid-19, and they, along with anyone else who may potentially have the virus through contract and tracing, have been forced into self-isolation.
According to the local council, 79 workers were tested positive via NHS tests while Greencore’s own private tests, which were conducted in response to the local spike, came back with 213 positive results.
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“As a result of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the Northampton area, we took the decision to start proactively testing all of the colleagues at our Northampton site,” Greencore said.
“We can confirm that a number of colleagues have tested positive for the virus and are now self-isolating.
“We are liaising closely with Public Health England East Midlands, Northamptonshire county council and Northampton borough council, who are fully supportive of the controls that we have on-site.”
It added: “All of Greencore’s sites have wide-ranging social distancing measures, stringent hygiene procedures and regular temperature checking in place, and we are doing everything that we can to keep our people safe.”
The news comes after similar outbreak at an Asda-owned meat processing site in West Yorkshire, where 165 employees contracted the virus in June.
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