Covid-19 Outbreak Disrupts Activity at Branston Plant

Staff at the Branston processing plant in Abernethy was confirmed to have the virus with several more forced into isolation because of the outbreak. The company will now close down for around 36 hours to undergo a deep clean – though bosses say staff will still be paid in full during the shutdown and holiday days would be credited back to staff.

The outbreak at the factory is the third to hit Perthshire with both Perth Fire Station and Balhousie North Inch also reporting multiple positive cases.

James Truscott, managing director at Branston, said the company was monitoring the situation closely. “We can confirm that a small number of employees at our Abernethy site have tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, as part of the NHS testing program – several employees are also currently self-isolating as a precautionary measure,” said Truscott.

“We are now working in conjunction with the Department of Public Health to monitor the situation closely. The health and wellbeing of our workforce is always our first priority, therefore in order to even better protect our employees, we will be undertaking a full ‘deep clean’ of the entire site this weekend as a precautionary measure,” he added.