An Aberdeenshire sawmill has undergone a deep clean after two contractors from Greater Manchester tested positive for Covid-19 after carrying out work there.
The Burnroot Sawmill near Aboyne, operated by James Jones and Sons Ltd, had the two engineers carrying out essential work at the facility last week.
The pair came from Bolton, a town in Greater Manchester with the ninth highest infection rate in England.
A spokeswoman for James Jones and Sons said no other staff at the mill were in close contact with the engineers, and no other personnel have been asked to isolate at this stage.
The spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that two engineers, who were carrying out essential maintenance work at our Aboyne site during our site shutdown last week, have subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.
“The engineers were all working under strict company Covid-19 protocols whilst on site, which follow all relevant government guidelines.
“As soon as we were aware of the risk, the area in which the engineers had been working was immediately quarantined and has also been deep-cleaned.
“There has now been a period of four days between when the engineers left site and when normal production operations have recommenced.
“We can confirm that the contractors working on site travelled from the Bolton area on Sunday October 11 when it was within Tier 2.”
Aboyne councillor Peter Argyle said: “This incident shows that Covid-19 is not going away and that we all need to follow government guidance to keep everyone safe.”