Covid outbreak at DVLA call centre in Swansea declared over

Wales
DVLA
Coronavirus
Health
Friday 26 February 2021 at 5:46pm

A coronavirus outbreak at the DVLA call centre in Swansea is over according to Public Health Wales.

560 cases of coronavirus have been recorded amongst DVLA employees - working on site and from home - since September.

Since 1 December 2020 96 cases have been identified amongst employees that normally work in the Swansea building.

Public Health Wales declared an outbreak at the driving agency's call centre in Swansea in December last year.

Earlier this year, employees reported that they were being told to turn off their track and trace apps and that cleaning was "not up to the required standard" - something the DVLA have denied.

Siôn Lingard, Consultant in Health Protection for Public Health Wales, said: “All agencies have been working in close collaboration with the DVLA to reduce the number of cases in this workforce.

“As a result of there being no linked cases amongst Contact Centre staff within the last 28 days, we can confirm that the decision has been taken to declare the outbreak over.

“We will continue to actively monitor the situation and the multi-agency Incident Management Team will continue to meet regularly and liaise with the DVLA."

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) are due to vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action at the DVLA site over continued concerns about worker safety.

The DVLA have said the call centre has been Covid free since the end of January.

Julie Lennard, DVLA Chief Executive Officer said: “We are pleased that Public Health Wales has confirmed that the outbreak in the contact centre in December is now over. The safety of our staff is our top priority and we have worked extremely hard since the very start of the pandemic to implement and maintain safety measures in accordance with Welsh government guidance.

"The contact centre has been COVID free since 25 January with no cases there for over a month. Currently six members of staff, out of a workforce of more than 6,000, have tested positive and are currently isolating at home. These include two staff who are working from home."