Coronavirus: Fyffes shuts Coventry site after outbreak

Fyffes said the safety of all workers was its "number one priority"

Banana supplier Fyffes has shut a distribution centre after 20 more staff tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total to 30.

Fyffes said it was putting "enhanced infection control measures" in place and stopping normal operations at the site in Walsgrave, Coventry, until Wednesday morning.

An outbreak was reported last week after 10 employees tested positive.

The new numbers follow the testing of all 186 staff, says the city council.

Its director of public health, Liz Gaulton, said: "After the increase in positive cases we have agreed a temporary cessation of normal operations is the best way forward to support the business and the food production industry, while also protecting the health and wellbeing of the workforce and the wider public health."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said that according to Ms Gaulton, Fyffes was implementing a range of additional measures "to enhance the controls" it already had in place.

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During the next two days, the site at Cross Point Business Park on Richardson Way was set for a "thorough clean", Fyffes said, adding the safety of workers was its "number one priority".

A company spokesman said: "We are thankful for the continued support we have received for our staff members and our business."

The council has asked local people with coronavirus symptoms to get tested at one of three city sites: the regional testing hub at the Ricoh Arena, the drive-thru site at Moat Street car park, or the walk-in site in Foleshill.