More than 170 people have tested positive for coronavirus at a meat processing plant in Cornwall.

Five hundred staff at Pilgrim’s Pride food factory in Pool were tested for Covid-19 following an alert to the national test and trace system. 

Most of the workers who tested positive were asymptomatic, the local public health team said. 

Pilgrim’s Pride said it has introduced additional measures and checks its compliance with Covid-19 controls on a daily basis.

A spokesperson for Pilgrim’s Pride added: “From the outset we have worked conscientiously to do all we can to protect our workforce and the local community.

“Our teams have been working extremely hard in collaboration with the local authority and public health to manage this challenging situation, and have bravely conducted themselves with professionalism and integrity as they continue to play their important role in maintaining the UK food supply chain.”

Rachel Wigglesworth, interim director for Public Health for Cornwall Council, said: “Our team has been working tirelessly since the beginning of the pandemic, and have strengthened our local Covid-19 contact tracing approach to help detect cases early, prevent spread and support people to self-isolate.

“We’ve quickly identified and tested hundreds of people, and in finding people who weren’t displaying symptoms we have potentially stopped much wider spread in our communities.

“We continue to closely monitor the situation and appreciate the cooperation of Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd. and their employees.”

Coronavirus cases in the South West remain relatively low, despite spikes in other parts of the country.

In the seven days up to September 27, there was an infection rate of 31.5 per 100,000 people in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, with 180 positive cases.

This was up from 20.1 per 100,00 people the week before, and 115 confirmed cases, according to calculations from the PA news agency.