Ingham’s Chicken plant in Melbourne shuts down after a coronavirus outbreak among staff
- Ingham’s Chicken processing factory in Melbourne has been closed temporarily
- Five staff members are self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19
- The company says it doesn’t expect the closure to impact chicken supplies
A chicken processing facility has been shut down after a coronavirus outbreak among staff members.
Five workers tested positive for COVID-19 at Ingham’s Thomastown processing plant in Melbourne.
All 200 staff have been stood down with pay and production has been stopped for the time being.
The company has production and processing facilities in five Australian states and all the others remain open, so supply is not expected to be affected.
Ingham’s chicken processing facility been shut downa at Thomastown (pictured) has been shut down indefinitely after a coronavirus outbreak among staff members
Ingham’s Australia and another company, Baiada Poultry, supply around 70 per cent of the nation’s chicken.
Ingham’s CEO and Managing Director Jim Leighton said they are implementing measures to ensure the safety of staff and the wider community .
‘It is imperative that we continue do everything possible to ensure the health and safety of our people, communities and to assist in controlling the spread of the Coronavirus,’ Mr Leighton said in a note to the Australian stock exchange on Wednesday.
‘The closure of Thomastown is a proactive step taken on our part, and we are well prepared to manage through this disruption’.
Ingham’s Australia and Baiada Poultry supply around 70 per cent of the nation’s chicken supplies according to the Australian Chicken Meat Federation (Pictured: Ingham’s Chicken Breast Schnitzel)
Ingham’s has been working with the Victorian Department of Health to ensure all appropriate protocols are in place.
Victoria recorded 483 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours – its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.
Case numbers continue to grow across the state despite the government placing metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell shire into stage three lockdown on July 8.
From midnight tonight new measures will come in force that will require residents across these areas to wear a face mask while out in public.
Testing is being ramped up across Victoria after COVID-19 cases grew to their highest daily increase on Wednesday of 483 since the pandemic began (Pictured: staff conduct testing at a drive-through clinic)
Case numbers continue to grow across Victoria despite the government placing metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell shire into stage three lockdown on July 8