Corby warehouse staff sent for Covid test after worker contracts virus

Employees at a warehouse in Corby have been sent to be tested for Covid-19 after a worker there contracted the virus.

A member of staff at the Europa Worldwide warehouse at the Midlands Logistics Park tested positive on Sunday (August 16) and those on the same shift were sent "immediately" to the walk-in testing centre in James Ashworth VC, a spokesman for the firm said.

It is not clear how many staff were sent to be tested, or how many have since received a positive result, but workers won't be allowed to return until they can evidence a negative test.

Europa's logistics director Maria Torrent-March said: “In line with its protocols Europa’s Covid health and safety group immediately set in motion proactive measures to protect the safety and wellbeing of the company’s employees.

"In line with Government guidelines we have strict and very clear protocols about keeping all of our teams as safe as possible.

"This includes temperature checks for every member of staff arriving on site, hand sanitation, social distancing, daily staff briefings, increased hygiene, staggered working, and minimum visits to the site.

“In addition, before it became mandatory for wearing face covering in supermarkets and other spaces, as a precautionary measure, all personnel that enter our Corby warehouse either as a visitor, contractor, temporary staff, or employees must wear a mask - this is mandatory.

“As the building was constructed during the pandemic the site has already been adapted to enable social distancing, including clear one-way systems, increased hygiene stations and changes to canteen and lockers areas to facilitate social distancing.”

The huge £60m warehouse off Geddington Road was declared open for business in June, having taken on an extra 120 members of staff.

Europa said that the area where the person who tested positive had been working was also deep cleaned before anyone continued working there.

Health bosses have said that urgent action is required across the county, including in Corby where case rates are on an upward trend.

So far 361 people have tested positive for the virus in Corby. Its case rate - 499.9 per 100,000 people - is above the average for England.

Cases in the workplace are a cause for concern after almost 300 people tested positive at the Greencore sandwich factory in Northampton, which supplies M&S.

More than two-thirds of those workers who tested positive there were asymptomatic.

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