32 Walker's Shortbread staff self-isolating after COVID-19 outbreak

17 employees have tested positive and a further 15 were identified as close contacts.

Published 29th Jan 2021

More than 30 staff members at an Elgin factory are self-isolating following a coronavirus outbreak.

Walker's Shortbread say 17 of their employees have tested positive for the virus, whilst another 15 are also self-isolating after being identified as close contacts.

Workers from across the site including the offices, the factory and warehouses have tested positive.

Walker's Shortbread also confirmed that they closed last night, but that this an annual occurrence for maintenance purposes and will re-open on February 8th.

Walker’s spokesman Jack Irvine said: “We had a 70- minute meeting with NHS Grampian and numerous associates on January 20 re Covid related matters.

"The company gave an extensive rundown of safety measures in place and these were acknowledged as meeting current government standards.

"On the Elgin site there are currently 17 members of staff who have tested positive and are self-isolating. These members are employed in areas across the site from factory workers, to offices to warehouses.

"Several of these positive cases are asymptomatic and were detected as a result of the screening implementation we undertook following the NHS Grampian recommendations.

"There are also a further 15 staff members who either we, or Track &Trace, have told to self-isolate due to either being in the proximity of a positive case at work or else in contact with someone who has no company involvement .

“We currently employ just short of 400 people on the Elgin Site.