MORE than 50 staff at the Royal Mail delivery office in Kidderminster are said to be self-isolating after cases of coronavirus were confirmed at the site.
Two people have tested positive for Covid-19, leading to a large number of colleagues receiving the Test and Trace NHS app notification, requiring them to self-isolate for 10 days.
Postal staff who have been in touch with The Shuttle say this will cause major disruption to deliveries across the district, while Royal Mail said it is "possible" some areas will experience a reduction in service.
One worker said: "We've got at least two thirds of our staff off at the moment self-isolating which is going to cause a major distribution problem.
"We've had a couple of Covid cases but a lot of people are having to self-isolate because they've come into contact with them. It's at least 50.
"There's less people to do the job so others are worried about the impact that will have on the workload. We were struggling so much with Covid anyway with all the extra parcels.
"They're trying to get staff in to cover from elsewhere but customers need to know what's happening."
Royal Mail said it had carried out an intensive clean of the delivery office in Crossley Retail Park since the cases were confirmed.
A spokesman said: "Two people have tested positive for coronavirus at Kidderminster delivery office. We wish them a speedy recovery.
"We have carried out an intensive clean of the building.
"A large number of colleagues are self-isolating who have been identified through the Track and Trace app, which is supported by the office, and in line with both the business and PHE guidance.
"It is possible that some areas may experience a reduction in service due to the ongoing impact of Covid-related staff absences at the Kidderminster delivery office.
"We are working hard to deliver as normal a service as we can, drawing in extra resource and offering additional overtime where possible.
"We remain grateful to all our customers in these areas for their patience and understanding as our dedicated workforce work hard to deliver these exceptional volumes, whilst also adhering to necessary social distancing measures."
Detailing the hygiene methods in place at the company, the Royal Mail spokesman added: "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.
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"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”.
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