Unipres boss confirms another 13 employees have tested positive for coronavirus

The company confirmed on Thursday, October 1 that 14 employees had tested positive for the illness and that they were at home self-isolating.

Today (October 7), bosses have revealed a further 13 staff at the Cherry Blossom Way plant are confirmed to have the virus.

It brings the total number of cases at the company to 27, however at least 17 staff are expected to return to work by the end of the week.

The site, which employs over 1,000 people on Wearside, staged a return to full production in May and has seen a recent increase in cases among employees over the past couple of weeks.

The managing director of the car parts factory, Gary Graham said: “Like every large business in the country, we are working incredibly hard to ensure a safe environment for our workforce.

“But we are a reflection of the rest of the UK and North East, the situation changes on a daily basis, so we respond as proactively as possible to those changes to keep our workforce safe.

“Since last week we have seen Covid positive cases increase to 27. However, we anticipate that 17 of these will be back at work by the end of the week, having completed their mandatory recovery periods.”

No one has been reported to be seriously ill at the plant after testing positive for the coronavirus.

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Sunderland Echo website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here. Thank you.