Almost 700 people employed by Sellafield or its contractors have now tested positive for coronavirus, it has been revealed.

A total of 692 workers have received a positive result since Covid testing was rolled out last year.

The figure includes positive results from Sellafield’s own test and trace facility and tests by the NHS.

However, a spokesman for Sellafield has stressed that they are “never complacent” when it comes to Covid-19 and that the majority of positive tests relate to people who are working from home or at satellite offices.News and Star:

Out of the 692 positive tests, 179 were from Sellafield’s test and trace facility.

The remaining 513 positive tests were done by the NHS in the community and were reported to Sellafield because they involved employees or contractors.

The NHS figures are passed on to Sellafield’s tracing team to track down any contacts they may have had with other members of the workforce.

A spokesman for Sellafield Ltd said: “The proportion of people testing positive through our test and trace remains low and is reflective of rates in the wider community.

“We are pleased to see a significant reduction in the number of cases over recent weeks.

“However, we are never complacent when it comes to Covid-19. We are continuously reviewing our response and we are reminding our employees to remain vigilant and observe Public Health England guidelines at work and in our community.”

Sellafield’s test and trace facility located in the car park of the former visitors’ centre, opened last year to provide Covid-19 tests for people working at the nuclear site.

A total of 4,288 tests have been carried out since it opened.

The service expanded in November to offer tests to households of Sellafield Ltd employees.