Army drafted in after chicken plant's third Covid outbreak

The army were called in to help the NHS after the third coronavirus outbreak at a food factory in Perthshire.

The 2 Sisters Food Group plant in Coupar Angus has suffered another spate of Covid-19 cases, having previously been forced to close last summer.

The chicken processing plant remains open but NHS Services Scotland requested assitance from the military to facilitate asymptomatic testing at the site.

The number of cases has been confirmed as small but was increasing. A multiagency Incident Management Team (IMT) has been formed in response with preventative measures being put in place to avoid further spread.

The factory employs around 1000 people and had previous outbreaks with 30 cases in January this year and temporarily closed after a spike in cases in August 2020.

Dr Emma Fletcher, chair of the IMT said: “An IMT was called in response to a small but sustained increase in the number of cases of Covid-19 associated with the 2 Sisters factory.

“The IMT is working closely with 2 Sisters to put in place preventative measures to limit further transmission of the virus amongst factory workers. This includes supporting them to review existing infection prevention processes and procedures in place.

“The factory is working closely with NHS Tayside’s Public Health team and Food Standards Scotland to ensure all arrangements for contact tracing and self-isolation are in place. Staff who are self-isolating are being given appropriate advice and additional support from their relevant local authority if needed.

“The IMT is reassured that the factory can remain open at this time.”

2 Sisters declined to comment.