Six workers at Mr Kipling bakery test positive for Covid and are sent home to isolate

Six workers at a Mr Kipling bakery have been sent home to self-isolate after testing positive for coronavirus, but the factory still continues to operate.

The factory in Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, remains open despite the positive coronavirus test results, owner Premier Foods said. 

The owner added that the workers at the factory, which makes millions of Mr Kipling cakes and pies each year, are still receiving full pay, according to the Mirror.

Six workers at a Mr Kipling bakery in Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, have tested positive for coronavirus and were sent home to self-isolate

The site remains operational despite the positive test results, with owner Premier Food saying the staff only make up 0.9 per cent of the workforce

The firm said it is believed that the staff members caught the virus in the community and only represent 0.9 per cent of the factory’s workforce.

Colleagues who came into close contact with the infected staff are also self-isolating at home as a precautionary measure, StokeonTrentLive reported.

Stoke-on-Trent Council confirmed a cluster of coronavirus cases emerged and were linked to a food manufacturer in the Potteries, adding that three of the workers were ‘socially linked’.

A Premier Foods spokeswoman confirmed they were six employees at the Trent Vale factory.

The spokeswoman said: ‘The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is our absolute priority, and we have done everything we can throughout the pandemic to protect our teams.

‘We have seen a very small number of colleagues test positive for Covid-19 at our Stoke factory, reflective of an increase in cases in the wider Stoke-on-Trent/Newcastle-under-Lyme area.

‘As a result, we have introduced further protective measures on site, in addition to our already stringent hygiene and safety procedures.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council said they understand the infections took place ‘in the community’, not in the factory itself

‘We have been in contact with our local health protection team and are confident that we have taken all the necessary steps to protect our teams.

‘We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to keep local authorities updated.’

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Abi Brown said it was satisfied with the measures taken by Premier Foods.

She said: ‘We have been working closely with all the food manufacturing businesses in the city, including Premier Foods, throughout the pandemic.

‘Our public health team has been impressed with the measures introduced by Premier Foods, both before and since this issue. It is actually thanks to their processes that this issue came to light so quickly.’

She added that they understand the infections did not take place in the factory, but ‘in the community’.