COVID-19 Alert / Friday 1 April 2022 – Please don’t come to work if you are unwell or symptomatic

Friday 1 April 2022

Please don’t come to work if you are unwell or symptomatic

There is a rise in COVID-19 transmission in the community, which is also reflected in an increase in COVID-19 positives among our employees. Yesterday, we had 193 positive employees and a total of 300 on furlough.  In the past two days, we have had a number of instances of people coming to work with symptoms and that leading to the cross infection and isolation of many colleagues.

We have learned a lot about essential public health measures.  These apply to reducing the risk of transmission of infectious diseases, not only COVID-19. It is critical that we all adhere to public health measures.

First among these is that if you are unwell, you must not come to work (even for perceived mild illness). A negative Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) is not a ticket to return to work. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you should get a PCR test. Equally, there are other respiratory diseases emerging at this time of year including the Flu and we do not want that spreading among our workforce.

More information about the principles of returning to work safely can be found here.

Please also remember that, throughout the pandemic, the use of masks has proven an effective means of reducing the spread of COVID-19. While wearing masks in some indoor settings is no longer mandatory, it remains recommended. Please consider your wellbeing and those around you if you are working in a communal or office setting.

Thank you again for all that you are doing to keep each other and our community safe.

Andrew Stripp
Chief Executive