Highland Council offers assurance over Covid claims after workers in Wick test positive
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Highland Council has moved to reassure staff at its depots in Wick, as well as members of the public, after a refuse collector tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
Some workers have since claimed that the local authority 'mismanaged' the situation and that other staff members had returned to work when they should have been self-isolating.
The council confirmed on Tuesday last week that a member of its waste team in Caithness had tested positive the previous day for coronavirus and added that all close contacts had been advised to self-isolate.
But a member of staff at the Albert Street vehicle and roads maintenance depot in Wick said that a worker who later tested positive had "refused to wear a mask" while he sat in the refuse lorry with his colleagues.
"The guy who tested positive for Covid had said on the Monday he didn't feel well and was sent home," said the worker.
"He tested positive but the boys he was working with got tested and were back in for their work the next day. It's completely wrong... they should have been at home self-isolating."
The source said that many staff congregate at the Albert Street depot where the refuse lorries come in to be maintained by a team of mechanics. He claimed that one of the workers was tested on Monday last week and continued working until he received his Covid test results on the Wednesday, which then came back as positive.
Highland Council gardeners and road workers also use the depot and there are communal areas, such as toilets, that are used by staff who come and go. He also said he thought that the cleaning procedures to protect the staff from Covid were "not up to much".
A separate source also claimed that a worker had gone to work "for two days after testing positive". "The mannie refused to wear a mask whilst working and has infected people at the depot," they added.
However, a spokesperson for the local authority told the Caithness Courier: “The Highland Council works closely with the NHS Health Protection Team to investigate and manage any positive cases or outbreaks of Covid-19.
"Following a member of staff testing positive for Covid-19, close contacts were identified in liaison with the Health Protection Team and those staff were asked to get tested.
"No staff returned to work until after test results last Monday. Two other members of staff, who had been identified as close contacts, tested positive and did not return to work, self isolating in line with guidance.
"Other staff who were identified as potential contacts at the depot were advised to self-isolate as per national guidance. Within this staff group, none have tested positive."
The spokesperson also added that depot areas and vehicles are sanitised on a daily basis.
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