The military has set up a mobile testing unit at a Perthshire chicken factory following an outbreak of coronavirus.
By Tuesday there had been nine positive cases linked to the 2 Sisters plant in Coupar Angus, but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she expected that figure to rise.
The testing site, in a marquee in the grounds of a factory, was put in place to check all 900 employees.
The Courier revealed on Monday that the outbreak was started by a manager at the George Street plant, who contracted the virus from a close relative.
The factory was closed down on Monday morning and is expected to remain shut for some time.
At her daily briefing, Ms Sturgeon said: “So far I can report that this outbreak has nine confirmed cases associated with it, but I will be very surprised – albeit pleasantly – if we don’t see that number rise in the days ahead.
“Seven of the cases so far are employees of the factory and two are people in the wider community. Contact tracing is ongoing.”
She said: “The factory which employs approximately 900 people – a big workplace – closed down on Monday, and a mobile testing unit is on site today so that the whole workforce can be tested.
“Now, this is a complex and potentially significant cluster,” Ms Sturgeon said.
“In addition to the over-riding public health concern relating to the outbreak, the closure of the plant potentially, of course, has an economic impact.
“We also need to consider possible animal welfare issues as well. The animals which would have been sent to the factory in the next few days can’t currently be sent there, so for all of these reasons we are monitoring all aspects of this situation very carefully and closely.”
Asked it the case could lead to a local lockdown, Ms Sturgeon said: “I’m going to be very cautious about speculating here. We don’t rule anything out whenever we’re faced with clusters.
“If we can’t keep a cluster under control purely through test-and-protect then additional measures always have to be possible.
“But that is not an indication, one way or the other, of what might happen in Coupar Angus.”
No one at the factory was available for comment on Tuesday.
A spokesman earlier this week said: “Our priority remains the safety and well-being of all colleagues, and we will be reviewing the situation closely in partnership with the relevant regional and national Scottish Covid-19 taskforces before we restart production.”
