Banham Poultry: Covid-19 outbreak concern over contact tracing

Covid-19 contact tracers have reached about half of those who needed tracking down after an outbreak at a Norfolk poultry factory, it has been revealed.

Of the the 769 workers tested at Banham Poultry in Attleborough, 104 people have been identified as positive for the virus - up from 96 on Monday.

Public health director Dr Louise Smith said 52% of those who came into contact with the workers had been traced.

The Department of Health, responsible for contact tracing, is yet to comment.

Dr Smith, from Norfolk County Council, said the 48% yet to be traced was a "relatively high proportion".

She said the council was "bringing in a company to redo the contact tracing" to "have another go at reaching out to people".

It is thought several hundred people still need to be contacted.

Most staff at Banham Poultry have now been tested and the overall infection rate in factory is 13%, said Dr Smith.

She added: "We have no evidence of Banham Poultry outbreak spilling out into the wider community. We are increasingly confident we have a ring of understanding around this outbreak."

Most of those who have tested positive have a mild level of infection, but a few are being treated at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston.

Conservative MP George Freeman, who represents Mid Norfolk, said he was concerned that the phone-based contact trace system was missing too many people.

"If you are really going to track and trace, you need people on the ground in Norfolk with clipboards, knocking on doors," he said.

"I'm worried this has taken too long."

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