A FOOD processing plant in Coupar Angus has now been connected to 156 positive cases of Coronavirus.

The 2 Sisters poultry plant made the decision to close temporarily on Sunday, August 16, after nine people connected with the factory tested positive for the virus.

Read more - Covid-19 outbreak at 2 Sisters poultry plant leads to temporary closure

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave an update on the situation during this morning’s (Wednesday, Aug 26) First Minister’s Questions.

"As of Yesterday (Tuesday, Aug 25) there were 156 positive cases linked to that cluster – that is 138 workers of the factory and 18 of their contacts. Almost all of the workers at the factory have now been tested and in total more than 5000 people have been tested in Tayside over the past seven days,” Ms Sturgeon continued.

“So far, testing has not revealed large number of positive cases among contacts of the workforce and there is still no evidence at this stage of wider community transmission. That said, contract tracing and testing is still ongoing.”

Ms Sturgeon went on to appeal to workers of the factory and associated household to continue to self-isolate until Monday, August 31.

“I want to emphasise that restrictions apply even if any of those individuals have received a negative test,” concluded the First Minister.

The 2 Sisters poultry plant – which employs around 1000 employees – had previously operated for six months without a single positive Covid-19 case recorded.

It is believe that a manager at the factory may have caught the virus from a close relative – who is not an employee of the plant.