UPDATE: Royal Mail has corrected its earlier statement, saying there had been some “confusion.” A spokesperson said: “There was some confusion earlier, in fact there have been 3 confirmed cases that have tested positive for coronavirus at Margate Delivery Office, and 18 staff are self-isolating.”
Intensive cleans have taken place after staff at Royal Mail’s Margate delivery office tested positive for covid, says Royal Mail.
A source warned of postal disruption in Margate, Westgate and Birchington as a result of staff being absent including management. Some staff have returned today (January 4) after a period of self isolation.
A Royal Mail Spokesperson said: “Royal Mail takes the health and safety of its colleagues, its customers and the local communities in which we operate very seriously.
“There are currently colleagues that have tested positive for coronavirus at Margate Delivery Office. We wish them a speedy recovery.
“We have carried out an intensive clean of the site and have organised additional cleaning of key touch points and all communal areas. We are keeping the Communication Workers Union, Public Health England and colleagues updated. We are working hard to deliver a normal service as best we can and have drawn in extra resource.
“Throughout this crisis, every decision we make puts the health of our people and customers first. We have put in place a range of preventive measures to protect both our customers and our colleagues.
“We were the first UK company to put in place social-distancing measures in relation to parcel delivery. We pioneered contact-free delivery. We are temporarily not handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures.
“As well as encouraging good hand hygiene, standard ways of working have been revised to ensure that colleagues maintain appropriate social distancing at all times.
“All staff have been briefed about the social distancing measures jointly agreed by local management and the CWU. This has been supplemented with visible reminders such as posters and one-way floor markings.”
