About 200 workers at a vegetable farm and packing business supplying Sainsbury’s, Asda, M&S and Aldi have been ordered to isolate on the property after an outbreak of coronavirus.

At least 73 of the workers at AS Green & Co, based in Herefordshire, have tested positive for Covid-19, and more are awaiting results.

All of the farm’s workforce has been told to isolate in mobile homes used by pickers and packers during harvest season. The group was being treated as an “extended bubble” to reduce the risk of the outbreak spreading outside the farm, an official said.

Food and essential supplies are being provided by Herefordshire council as an emergency measure.

The farm specialises in growing broccoli, broad beans and runner beans, and supplies major supermarkets.

A statement said: “Our staff are our priority, they are hardworking key workers helping us provide food for the country during these unusual times. We contacted Public Health England (PHE) and we are working closely with them and public health at Herefordshire council to prevent the spread of Covid-19.”

PHE has provided on-site testing facilities and has given workers personal protective equipment to try to contain the outbreak.

Most of the farm’s workforce are usually drawn from eastern Europe, but travel restrictions this year forced it to launch a local recruitment drive. Satellite images of the packing site appear to show the plant surrounded by more than 30 mobile homes.

In April the farm’s owner, Andrew Green, told the Hereford Times that the business was hoping to attract furloughed workers wanting to earn extra money.

He said: “We are looking for local workers to join our family team in Mathon. Not only does the role provide the opportunity to work in a safe, healthy environment throughout the summer months, but it also enables those who have been financially impacted by the pandemic to boost their income, without jeopardising the support they will receive through the government furlough scheme.”

At least 73 workers at the farm have tested positive for coronavirus. Photograph: Jacob King/PA

Last month more than 450 workers at four food factories across England and Wales tested positive for coronavirus, including more than 150 at an Asda-owned site in West Yorkshire, raising concerns that food processing sites were contributing to the spread of Covid-19. Those cases are believed to have been contained and did not spread to the wider community.

Katie Spence, the health protection director at PHE Midlands, said all 73 people who had tested positive at AS Green were being asked to self-isolate for seven days, while those in their households and other close contacts had been asked to isolate for 14 days.

She said: “As we have seen a global trend of large food producers being subject to outbreaks, as a precautionary measure the decision was made to test the entire workforce. The initial batch of results showed a significant percentage of positive cases, despite these individuals being asymptomatic. We are still awaiting a few final results, but currently we have 73 positive cases of Covid-19 among the workforce.

“PHE Midlands and Herefordshire council are therefore working with AS Green & Co to closely monitor and manage the outbreak and support individual workers.”

Karen Wright, the director of public health for Herefordshire, said: “Prompt testing on the farm has allowed us to understand transmission and control the spread of infection. We continue to support the farm management, their workers – who form an important part of our local economy – and the local community through this challenging time. Anyone who has a fever, persistent dry cough, or loss or change in their sense of taste or smell should call 119 or go online to arrange a test.”

Research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that food processing plants had been prone to localised outbreaks. Unions claim that living conditions of many low-paid workers in such plants is a contributing factor, as well as time spent working in communal spaces.

The Guardian

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