Carroll Cuisine has said that the Health Service Executive and the Health Safety Authority have approved the reopening of its plant in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Operations were suspended on 10 August after a spike in Covid-19 cases in the midlands and while workers waited for results of Covid-19 tests.

In a statement, the company, which employs 330 people, said it plans a "gradually phased reopening" and "rigorous and proven prevention measures will continue".

Carroll Cuisine said all the tests came back as negative for the virus.

The company said the HSE tested 210 Carroll Cuisine staff on 9 August, including staff who work in food processing operations.

The rest of the workforce are not based at the Tullamore facility, or have not attended the facility since people began working from home, according to Carroll's.

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The company recorded its first case of Covid-19 in its workforce on 31 July.

It says to date, nine of its employees in Tullamore have tested positive for the coronavirus overall.


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Meanwhile, the Irish Dog Foods plant, which stopped production on 25 July, is to reopen on a phased basis. 

The company shut down after an outbreak of coronavirus at its factory in Naas. 

The Naas plant was closed on 25 July

In a statement, it said that following a meeting with the HSE's Outbreak Control Team and Health and Safety Authority representatives this week, it was agreed that the plant would begin reopening in order to return to full operations in two weeks' time.