Covid cases rise at Bernard Matthews's Suffolk turkey plant

The turkey firm, which employs about 1,000 people at that site, has revealed 43 people tested positive for coronavirus

Cases of Covid-19 at a turkey processing plant have doubled since Monday, the company said.

Public health officials were brought in to test about 100 staff at the Bernard Matthews site in Holton, near Halesworth, Suffolk.

The firm, which employs about 1,000 people at the site, revealed 36 have now tested positive for coronavirus, up 18 on Monday's figures.

It said most of the affected staff live in the Great Yarmouth/Lowestoft area.

In a letter to the Unite union, the company previously said it believed the cases were linked through car sharing.

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On Monday, a joint statement from Bernard Matthews and Norfolk and Suffolk public health officials said food production and safety were unaffected at the plant.

A spokesman for Bernard Matthews said: "We are grateful for the help of all local agencies and we fully support their objectives to protect the local community.

"We believe a number of cases were initiated in the community, but nevertheless we will continue to enforce our robust Covid measures as we enter into our busiest period of the year."

Teams from Suffolk and Norfolk were providing support and advice in the affected communities, said public health officials.

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