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- Public health officials have confirmed they are dealing with an outbreak of the Indian Covid variant in Herefordshire
- • The outbreak is amongst seasonal workers at a farm, but public health officials have not confirmed which one
- • There are no plans for surge testing in the county
- • 14 workers have tested positive, seven for the Indian variant
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- There has been an outbreak of coronavirus amongst seasonal workers at a Herefordshire farm, with some workers testing positive for the new Indian variant which is currently concerning the Government.
- Herefordshire Council said it is working with Public Health England (PHE) at the farm where a spokesperson said there had been a “small” outbreak, with 14 positive cases found. Of those, seven cases are the new Indian variant.
- Public health officials said the farm involved has strict control measures in place to limit transmission, including a period of isolation for all workers on arrival who then live and work in small groups (bubbles).
- They have no plans to start surge testing, which has started in areas such as Bedford because of the prevalence of the variant.
- Herefordshire’s Acting Director of Public Health, Dr Rebecca Howell Jones, said: “We are working closely with a farm who have taken all the right steps when welcoming their valued seasonal workforce, including routine testing and a period of isolation.
- “This has helped to limit transmission in their workforce and there is no evidence of onward spread outside of the household groups in which the workers were isolating.
- “Because of the strict measures taken and very limited transmission to date we do not currently have plans to introduce surge testing locally, however we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
- “I would like to reassure people that we are working closely with businesses in Herefordshire to prevent outbreaks and limit transmission when positive COVID-19 cases are identified.”
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