Royal Mail has closed its Swindon delivery office following a coronavirus outbreak.
The firm released a statement on its website yesterday stating the closure was due to “resourcing issues” but Wiltshire 999s today learned that this was due to hundreds of staff being sent home after several staff members at the Dorcan facility tested positive for COVID-19.
The site isn’t expected to reopen to workers until Thursday at the earliest, meaning that there will be no postal deliveries in the SN1, SN2, SN3, SN25, SN26 and SN38 postcode areas.
Postal workers from the facility have been urged to obtain a test but can return to work before receiving a result. One worker said that staff will be “delivering your mail before we get [our] results back” and that, in some cases, “people haven’t been tested” because staff were given the choice.
“Following a positive test for coronavirus at the Swindon Delivery Office, we have closed the office today as a precautionary measure”, A Royal Mail spokesperson told Wiltshire 999s.
“During this time we have carried out an enhanced clean of the building. We are working to keep disruption to mail deliveries to a minimum as we address the concerns of our colleagues.
“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. As well as encouraging good hand hygiene, standard ways of working have been revised to ensure that colleagues stay two metres apart 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. In addition there is only one person permitted in a Royal Mail delivery vehicle at any one time.”
