2 Sisters poultry plant re-opens following two week closure due to Covid-19 outbreak

An outbreak of the disease among the 900-strong workforce resulted in 188 positive cases being identified.

The plant is Scotland’s only large scale poultry processing facility, meaning during the closure, chickens from the company’s own farms and those of contract producers had to be transported to other 2 Sisters sites in the UK.

Various Covid-19 outbreaks have occurred in factories and processing plants in recent months, with Banham Poultry, Norfolk, the latest to be hit.

At the Coupar Angus plant, 17 different languages are spoken by workers and many of them live in shared accommodation in neighbouring towns, making the cluster difficult to manage.

It featured prominently in First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s daily briefings.

Ahead of the re-opening, a 2 Sisters spokesperson said: "In addition to a series of enhanced measures, colleagues will also receive training and best practice guides on issues ranging from transport arrangements, conduct in the community, to keeping Covid-safe in a shared household.