Bulla confirms positive case

An employee from Colac’s Bulla Dairy Foods has tested positive to COVID-19.

Bulla closed its Connor Street facility for deep cleaning after learning of the confirmed case today.

The company said it is working with public health and industry authorities to determine its next steps, and that there was no indication any more of its facilities were affected by the case.

Bulla said that the employee is isolating at home and was feeling “unwell”.

Colac Otway had 101 total cases of COVID-19 in today’s DHHS figures, two more than than yesterday. The department reported one more active case to bring the number to 10.

Bulla chief Allan Hood released the following statement tonight:

“It has been identified that one of our team members at our Connor St, Colac site has returned a positive test for coronavirus on Sunday, August 30 2020. This is the first COVID-19 case among the Bulla Family Dairy team to date,” he said.

“Our thoughts and well wishes are with our team member who is unwell as they now isolate at home. We will continue to do all we can to support them during this time.

“We are working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Colac Area Health, Dairy Food Safety Victoria and Dairy Australia on next steps and as part of this process our Connor St site is now temporarily closed for the required deep cleaning procedure and will be re-opened when it is safe to do so. We can confirm that Bulla’s other facilities in Colac and Melbourne have not been affected at this stage.

“In partnership with the DHHS, contact tracing is now in progress and we will provide our full support to those required to present for testing and/or self-isolate at home following the advice provided by the relevant authorities.

“With a commitment first and foremost to the health and wellbeing of our team members, farmers, visitors and contractors, we have been proactive across the pandemic from its outset and implemented additional health and safety protocols to reduce the risk of spreading of the virus across all Bulla sites.

“Particularly in Colac, we have also partnered with other local businesses and community leaders to support one another to mitigate the pandemic so that we can all play our part in helping keep our community safe and we are very grateful for this continued support.

“We will continue to work collaboratively with relevant authorities to keep our team and working environment safe.”