August 11, 2020 10.26 am This story is over 46 months old

Third of Newark factory COVID-19 cases from Lincolnshire

Over 50 coronavirus cases confirmed so far
The Bakkavor Deserts site in Newark recently saw an outbreak of coronavirus cases. Photo: Google Street View

Health bosses estimate that a third of workers at a Newark factory coronavirus outbreak actually live in Lincolnshire.

Bakkavor confirmed an outbreak last week at its dessert factory in Newark, and is currently testing all 1,600 employees as well as agency staff.

It comes as health bosses in the area look to tackle rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in the Newark and Sherwood district.

Deputy director of public health for Lincolnshire County Council Tony McGinty said: “They’ve found I think just under 50 cases associated with that factory as of late yesterday, and we’ve identified that possibly as many as a third of those actually live in Lincolnshire and work in that factory in Newark.

“So that gives you a bit of a feel for the effect that outbreak is having on numbers for Lincolnshire.”

Mr McGinty said Nottinghamshire Public Health teams were leading on contacting and tracing for those being confirmed or being put into self-isolation, however Lincolnshire had offered to help if needed.

“We’re in close contact with them and with Public Health England, and giving them information about the cases that we’re finding in Lincolnshire.

“We have an offer on the table with them obviously to do some of that kind of close contact tracing work needed for the link to population, if they needed to do that.”

He said there were no particular hotspots and that those living in the county were widely dispersed from “lots of little bits of Lincolnshire”.

The latest news comes as health bosses confirmed Tuesday that numbers are starting to creep back up and urged people to continue taking precautions.