First Minister won’t revisit two metre social distancing rule until more is known about North Wales factory coronavirus outbreaks

The First Minister is awaiting further details of outbreaks in North Wales before possibly reassessing the two metre social distancing rule that is in force for businesses in Wales.

On Thursday, it was revealed that 51 workers at the 2 Sisters plant in Llangefni had contracted COVID-19, with more than 200 people said to be self-isolating.

Meanwhile, in Wrexham the Rowan Foods factory on the town’s industrial estate was also confirmed as having an outbreak after staff previously walked out ‘in protest over concerns about coronavirus working conditions’.

We asked the First Minister Mark Drakeford if he was aware of the previous concerns at the Wrexham location, and if the two cases in North Wales were investigated by officials.

We also asked if the two metre regulations, which can result in a £60 fine if breached by employers, would be reviewed or result in proactive monitoring being carried out at factories around Wales.

The rules in Wales require businesses to take “all reasonable measures” to ensure that a distance of two metres is maintained between any people on their premises.

However, the definition of “reasonable” has proved to be a grey area.

The First Minister said: “We are aware of the incidents back in April, when staff members drew attention to issues at the factory.

“I know that the police attended at the time and were satisfied with what they saw at the time and that the Health and Safety Executive has been involved.

“In the meantime, I spoke myself yesterday with Unite the Union, about their view of the position in North Wales.

“Of course, we will now have people more directly involved in the outbreak at Rowan Foods in Wrexham and we will learn more as a result of the investigations that will be taken forward.

“Whether we need to do more to toughen or enforce the two metre rule which is in our regulations here in Wales…I’ll come to conclusions on that when we know more about the circumstances in Llangefni and in Wrexham.”

On Anglesey schools will not reopen on June 29 due to concerns over the 2 Sisters coronavirus outbreak.

Public Health Wales did not respond to our request for comment.