SIXTEEN Corby postwomen and postmen test positive for Covid

A Covid outbreak at Corby delivery office has struck sixteen of the borough’s posties.

An undisclosed number - thought to be the majority of the workers - are currently having to self-isolate after coming into contact with their infected workmates at the base in Crucible Road

The outbreak has led to deliveries being late to many areas of the borough - with other staff working harder to try to clear the backlog.

Although Royal Mail did not put a number on how many were self-isolating due to coming into contact with Covid positive colleagues, one local told the Northants Telegraph that only 20 per cent of the entire Royal Mail workforce were available to deliver post yesterday (Friday, January 15).

It comes as local public health bosses said Covid cases had ‘rocketed’ in the area, with Corby’s rate currently the highest in the East Midlands. Other outbreaks have occurred at Avon and iForce.

A statement from Royal Mail 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 sixteen colleagues that have tested positive for coronavirus at Corby Delivery Office.

“We wish them a speedy recovery. A number of colleagues are also self-isolating. 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 CWU, PHE and colleagues updated.

“We remain grateful to all our customers in these areas for their patience and understanding as our dedicated workforce work hard to deliver during these challenging times, whilst also adhering to necessary social distancing measures.

“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”.

A government task force is set to speak to health leaders in the town to find out about the challenges faced in industrial areas where the majority of a town’s workforce cannot work from home.