MORRISONS has quashed false rumours that a number of staff at its Malvern store have tested positive for coronavirus, following a visit to the supermarket by workers from a farm where there has been an outbreak of Covid-19.

A total of 120 workers at AS Green & Co vegetable farm in Mathon, near Malvern, have now tested positive for coronavirus in the past fortnight.

Prior to them being tested, some of the workers went on a minibus for shopping trips at Malvern’s Morrisons as well as Worcester’s Primark and Iceland.

This week there has been talk in the Malvern community that some staff at the Morrisons in Roman Way have got Covid-19, and people have contacted this newspaper to seek information on these rumours.

However, when a reporter contacted Morrisons' press office to seek a response, a spokesman for the chain refused to issue a statement but did say that the rumours of an outbreak at the store were “total rubbish”, and that “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.

The number of coronavirus cases linked to the farm has now risen to 120, Herefordshire Council said this week.

Herefordshire Council and Public Health England Midlands said 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.