MORRISONS has quashed rumours that staff tested positive for coronavirus after a visit to the supermarket by workers from a Herefordshire farm where there has been an outbreak of Covid-19.

One hundred and twenty workers at AS Green & Co vegetable farm in Mathon, near Ledbury, have tested positive for coronavirus in the past fortnight.

Before being tested, some of them went on a minibus for shopping trips at Morrisons in Malvern, as well as Primark and Iceland, both in Worcester.

This week there has been talk in Malvern that some staff at the Morrisons in Roman Way have Covid-19. The Hereford Times's sister newspaper in Malvern has been contacted by people seeking clarification.

RELATED NEWS: All our reports about the coronavirus outbreak at the farm

But when a reporter contacted the Morrisons press office, a spokesman refused to comment in detail other than to say that rumours of an outbreak at the branch were “total rubbish”, and “to be absolutely clear, the information you have received is not correct”.

Worcestershire County Council has previously said the risk that staff and shoppers would have caught Covid from the farm workers was "very low".

Dr Kathryn Cobain, Director for Public Health for Worcestershire, said: “Before the Covid-19 outbreak at As Green and Co some of the workers visited a small number of stores in Worcester and Malvern.

"The risk to other users and staff in these stores is very low. If shoppers observe the social distancing and hand hygiene guidance, and wear a face covering where distancing is not possible, they keep themselves and others safe.

“Environmental Health are continuing to carry out compliance checks in stores, to ensure correct procedures are followed. We continue to work alongside our Public Health colleagues in Herefordshire to monitor the situation, and to gather as much information from the workers as possible."

Herefordshire Council and Public Health England say they are continuing to work with AS Green and Co to contain the outbreak.

Workers have been asked to remain on site and self-isolate to reduce risk of spread within the workforce and into the wider community.