Four workers have tested positive for COVID-19 at a dairy plant in County Kildare.

Glanbia Ireland said it is responding to the outbreak at its Ballitore facility which processes liquid milk, processes grain and houses an agribusiness retail outlet.

In a statement, the company said it is working closely with local health authorities to contain the outbreak and noted that the health and safety of its employees, customers and suppliers remains its top priority.

It said it activated its contact tracing procedures as soon as the results came in and has “implemented all the appropriate processes” in response.

The company employs 2,000 people in Ireland, with over 100 people working at the Ballitore facility.

Glanbia said: “We have implemented detailed site protection plans and protocols at all our locations and are managing health and safety assiduously through a comprehensive set of measures, such as temperature checking at point of entry on site; heightened cleaning and sanitation; social distancing across our operations; personal protective equipment (PPE); Perspex partitions where appropriate, homeworking where possible and limiting site access to essential personnel only.”

It said it has “stringent hygiene measures” across its entire supply chain.

The latest outbreak comes as the government considers the latest advice from NPHET in response to a spike in cases in recent weeks.

The Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said he is “very hopeful” restrictions in Kildare, Laois and Offaly can be lifted next week.