Dear colleagues,
A very happy new year to you all and we hope that you and your families have managed to enjoy the festivities despite the cloud of Covid-19 hanging over us all.
Yesterday the Governments of the UK made some very important announcements regarding COVID-19 which means that we are all now effectively in a lockdown. This is due to a new variant of Covid-19 which is much more infectious and is increasing the amount of daily cases being recorded.
This increased risk should be of concern to us all and it means that without exception:
- Those who are able to work from home must stay at home.
- No one should be travelling to visit any of our sites, all requests should be refused, and the Task Force consulted where necessary.
- Those of you who continue to work at our sites should have a letter of authorisation to travel. An updated letter will be issued to you and should remain in your vehicle.
- Anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 or who has been contacted by Track & Trace must follow the NHS guidance to the letter.
The best way to prevent spreading infection from Covid-19 remains unchanged and all of the necessary controls and barriers remain in place across the business to ensure everyone's safety. Please ensure that you always:
- Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with hot soapy water.
- Use the hand sanitisers provided.
- Maintain social distancing at all times.
- Wear your face covering when indoors and if at all possible, at all other times.
- If you develop any symptoms, then please self-isolate, book a test and phone your line manager immediately.
There are also reports that the NHS in the UK is under significant pressure at this time and it is important that we remain aware of this and don't do anything that adversely affects their efforts to deal with the pandemic. Reports of people slipping on ice, getting injured at home or at work are the types of things that they are having to deal with in addition to the pandemic. Therefore, we all need to take extra care and act responsibly to ensure that we are not putting further stresses on the Health Services.
The Task Force and Crisis Management Team are continuing to monitor the situation and will communicate any changes that are made to our arrangements for dealing with Covid-19.
If you have any queries or concerns, please contact your line manager or email zzRM-COVID-19@ascoworld.com
We understand this situation is stressful and frustrating for everyone however we got through this in March 2020 and we will get through it again! The reports of the vaccines being rolled at the moment provide a powerful reminder and motivator for us all to behave responsibly and to stick to the rules. If we all do this then we will get out the other end of this a lot quicker and achieve the return to our normal lives that we all desperately want.
Kind Regards,
The Task Force