THE Covid infection rate in Selby district - already the highest in the UK - is set to rise further following the outbreak at a local business ... but no 'variants of concern' have been found so far.

The latest developments at Clipper Logistics in Barlby Road, Selby, were revealed by health officials at a press briefing today.

Public health consultant Dr Victoria Turner said that the cases at the workplace appeared to be the Kent variant, which was more transmissible than previous cases, but none of the variants which have been causing particular concern - such as the Indian one - had been identified so far.

She said the Health and Safety Executive and Environmental Health officers had been on site to help in tackling the outbreak.

Richard Webb, corporate director of health and adult services at ‎North Yorkshire County Council, said he had said last week that the pandemic situation in the county was 'encouraging but volatile,' and he stood by this after the outbreak had led to the rate in Selby rising from 46.3 per 100,000 population to 109.7.

He said that with a great deal of testing going on, the rate was set to rise further in coming days.

A spokesperson for Clipper, which distributes goods for retailers such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Asda and Morrisons, has said: “As this global crisis progresses, it’s clear no community is insusceptible to Coronavirus and, like many others, we, too, have been impacted with a number of confirmed cases. That said, there is no evidence to suggest these cases were contracted in the warehouse.

"As the health and wellbeing of our staff is our number one priority, we are maintaining our social distancing protocols, conducting daily on-site testing and communicating regularly with staff and the Environmental Health Officer, who has visited the site in the last week and verified our approach.”