Health chiefs are confident that a new outbreak of coronavirus at a Perthshire food factory is being brought under control.
Several staff at the 2 Sisters abattoir in Coupar Angus tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. A small number of workers are now isolating.
It follows a major outbreak earlier this summer when the factory was forced to close and all 1,200 employees went into quarantine for two weeks.
Concern over second coronavirus outbreak at Coupar Angus chicken factory
NHS Tayside and Perth and Kinross Council are keeping a close eye on the latest cases.
Council leader Murray Lyle said: “The situation is being monitored, but it looks like it is being managed and it will be brought under control.
“I have been getting regular updates and so far I’ve heard nothing that causes alarm.”
He said the number of positive cases linked to the factory had increased from five to seven on Wednesday evening.
NHS Tayside would not confirm the latest numbers, but said it was still in single figures.
A spokeswoman said no further action was required, and an Incident Management Team had not been set up.
It is understood the number of cases has been kept low, partly due to a much reduced workforce over the Christmas period.
Staff told The Courier they had only found out about the cases through “word of mouth” while chatting to other staff during breaks.
Another contract worker, who attended for a shift a few weeks ago, raised concerns about an apparent lack of physical distancing amongst employees inside the building, in an outdoor smoking area and on the street at the end of shifts.
The company did not respond to the claims when contacted by The Courier.
The factory closed in August after four positive cases were reported. When it reopened at the beginning of September, staff were given extra training on how to prevent a further outbreak.
Workers were to be told how to stop the spread of infection outside of the factory walls and help safeguard others in the community.
The improved safety strategy focussed on a message of “shared responsibility” and aims to quash theories that anyone who tests negative is “provided with some level of immunity”.
At the end of the previous outbreak, just over 200 staff had tested positive, along with about 30 of their community contacts.
