THE coronavirus incident at the Kepak meat processing plant in Merthyr Tydfil has been formally declared over.

It was announced seven weeks ago that hundreds of staff at the site in the town's Dowlais Top area, just a couple of miles from the border with Blaenau Gwent, were to be tested for coronavirus as there had been 34 cases identified as having links with the site since the end of April.

Subsequently, the number of Kepak-linked cases rose by almost 100 and workers' households were told to self isolate.

The cases were revealed as work continued to contain outbreaks at food processing plants in Anglesey and Wrexham.

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said today that following a multi-agency incident management meeting last week, "and as a result of no further cases associated with Kepak in Merthyr Tydfil, Public Health Wales can confirm that the decision has been taken to declare the incident over".

"We would like to thank all those involved in supporting the response to the incident," he said.

The Kepak incident was not declared as an outbreak, but the cases involved meant that the coronavirus infection rate per 100,000 population in Merthyr rose significantly and - currently at 961.4 cases per 100,000 - it remains the second highest in Wales after Wrexham.

The Health and Safety Executive inspected the site and was satisfied that Kepak was taking "all reasonably practicable measures" to prevent the spread of coronavirus among the workforce, and Public Health Wales said the cluster of cases linked to the plant did not mean there had been a significant increase in the level of infection in the community.

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“There are no significant updates on the previously reported incidents in Llangefni, Ebbw Vale and Wrexham," Dr Shankar also confirmed today.

The Ebbw Vale incident relates to the several cases found last month to be related to the Zorba Delicacies Limited plant at the town's Rassau industrial estate.