A chicken factory in Norfolk is temporarily closing part of it’s operations after 75 workers tested positive for coronavirus.

Banham Poultry in Attleborough, which employs 1100 staff, will close its cutting room tomorrow morning as the factory attempts to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.  The first case among staff was reported last Friday, when one worker went home unwell. By Monday, seven out of 15 tested were found to have the virus.

This has lead to concerns that Norfolk will be forced back into lockdown with a central government review due to take place in the next 24 hours.

Dr Louise Smith, director of Public Health England in Norfolk, told the Eastern Daily Press that she was ruling out an immediate local lockdown.

She said: ‘At this point what we are doing is a very specific localised lockdown to a very specific setting, the who work there and their households.

‘We do not anticipate the need for a geographical or town-based lockdown at this stage and we would only move to that kind of measure if we were getting evidence of spread in the general public that could not be linked to a specific location, such as this outbreak.

‘We are not at that level at this stage and the background level of infection in Norfolk outside of this outbreak is low.’

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