Two workers at ABP Clones have tested positive for COVID-19 and all staff members at the plant are now being tested for the virus.
Some 350 people are employed at the factory.
An ABP spokesperson confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that it is in the process of testing all of its staff members at the Clones facility. The factory at Clones remains open.
"The testing is a precautionary measure that will be carried out by a private company in conjunction with the HSE.
"ABP was notified of a positive COVID-19 case among its workforce at the Clones facility and, following HSE testing of close contacts of the worker concerned, the company has been notified of a second case," an ABP spokesperson said.
The Clones plant currently kills between 1,200-1,500 cattle weekly. It is not known yet whether this week's kill will be affected.
It is the second meat factory in the Larry Goodman owned ABP Group to be disrupted after ABP Cahir had a number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 10 days.
Measures
ABP has introduced a variety of protection measures against coronavirus as part of a companywide initiative that began in March.
"These include limiting site access to essential personnel, temperature checks at the entry to the site, staggered break times, Perspex partitions where appropriate, social distancing measures in canteens and all other communal spaces as well as detailed protocols for colleagues who display any symptoms.
"The company will continue to work proactively and take direction from both the HSE and HSA in relation to the matter," the spokesperson said.
One case of COVID-19 at Ribworld Tipperary
Meanwhile, a meat processor in Co Tipperary has confirmed a positive case of COVID-19 among its workforce. Ribworld has 212 staff working at its site in Fethard and is part of the Karro Food Limited group.
A Karro Food Limited spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We can confirm that one of our colleagues was identified through contact tracing and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. They are now self-isolating at home.
“We subsequently implemented our own internal tracking procedure, in collaboration with the Health Service Executive, and sent all 30 possible contacts of the affected worker for testing. All returned negative results.”
Testing
Kildare Chilling is slowly getting back to normal after being closed for a number of weeks following a large number of positive COVID-19 cases.
There are concerns as the proposed testing programme is rolled out that there may be a surge in cases and the testing mechanisms in place won’t be fit to cope. Under the proposals up to 15,000 meat factory workers and 18,000 dairy workers would have to be tested on a weekly basis.
Read more
Eight new cases of COVID-19 confirmed at ABP Cahir
COVID-19 cluster in Antrim pig factory
Up to 500 farmers sick with COVID-19
COVID-19: Kildare Chilling reopens gradually
Two workers at ABP Clones have tested positive for COVID-19 and all staff members at the plant are now being tested for the virus.
Some 350 people are employed at the factory.
An ABP spokesperson confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that it is in the process of testing all of its staff members at the Clones facility. The factory at Clones remains open.
"The testing is a precautionary measure that will be carried out by a private company in conjunction with the HSE.
"ABP was notified of a positive COVID-19 case among its workforce at the Clones facility and, following HSE testing of close contacts of the worker concerned, the company has been notified of a second case," an ABP spokesperson said.
The Clones plant currently kills between 1,200-1,500 cattle weekly. It is not known yet whether this week's kill will be affected.
It is the second meat factory in the Larry Goodman owned ABP Group to be disrupted after ABP Cahir had a number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 10 days.
Measures
ABP has introduced a variety of protection measures against coronavirus as part of a companywide initiative that began in March.
"These include limiting site access to essential personnel, temperature checks at the entry to the site, staggered break times, Perspex partitions where appropriate, social distancing measures in canteens and all other communal spaces as well as detailed protocols for colleagues who display any symptoms.
"The company will continue to work proactively and take direction from both the HSE and HSA in relation to the matter," the spokesperson said.
One case of COVID-19 at Ribworld Tipperary
Meanwhile, a meat processor in Co Tipperary has confirmed a positive case of COVID-19 among its workforce. Ribworld has 212 staff working at its site in Fethard and is part of the Karro Food Limited group.
A Karro Food Limited spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We can confirm that one of our colleagues was identified through contact tracing and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. They are now self-isolating at home.
“We subsequently implemented our own internal tracking procedure, in collaboration with the Health Service Executive, and sent all 30 possible contacts of the affected worker for testing. All returned negative results.”
Testing
Kildare Chilling is slowly getting back to normal after being closed for a number of weeks following a large number of positive COVID-19 cases.
There are concerns as the proposed testing programme is rolled out that there may be a surge in cases and the testing mechanisms in place won’t be fit to cope. Under the proposals up to 15,000 meat factory workers and 18,000 dairy workers would have to be tested on a weekly basis.
Read more
Eight new cases of COVID-19 confirmed at ABP Cahir
COVID-19 cluster in Antrim pig factory
Up to 500 farmers sick with COVID-19
COVID-19: Kildare Chilling reopens gradually
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: