Following an outbreak of positive coronavirus cases amongst staff, the Greencore food processing factory has temporarily closed its Northampton sites. Most employees and their direct households will need to isolate at home for two weeks. (This excludes those who have been furloughed for 14 days or more and who have not been on the Greencore site during that time, and those who have previously tested positive or been identified as a household contact of a case and have completed their required self-isolation period).
Following a deep-clean of the Greencore factory sites, exempt staff will be allowed back into work, provided they have not been in the factory (or in close contact with anyone else who had) since 7 August. Greencore has already been improving hygiene practices and will continue to do so while the sites are closed, to ensure a safe return to work for all employees.
This decision has been taken in order to keep both staff and the local community safe, and Greencore are being supported by Northamptonshire County Council, Northampton Borough Council and Public Health England to make sure that this outbreak is managed.
There's more information about local coronavirus guidance at: https://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/coronavirus-updates and https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-restrictions-areas-with-an-outbreak-of-coronavirus-covid-19.
As ever, if you have any queries, you can get in touch at chris.heatonharris.mp@parliament.uk.