A postal employee has claimed MaltaPost didn’t follow proper protocol after positive COVID-19 cases were found at its San Ġwann Hub this festive season.

The worker, who preferred to remain unnamed, told Lovin Malta that a colleague was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on 26th December, when the hub was on Christmas shutdown.

However, the postal employee alleged, their supervisors did not inform other postal employees who worked alongside them on 24th December, in order to avoid putting all their employees in quarantine.

“No one was sent for a swab, no cleaning was done, no worker was asked to be careful or monitor symptoms, no one was sent in quarantine,” they said.

Two weeks later on 8th January, another positive case was found. This time, workers were asked through informal channels to take rapid tests immediately.

“The issue is that COVID-19 has an incubation period of three to four days to be detected, so these rapid tests were useless,” they warned.

A number of people should have been put in quarantine, they continued, because the San Ġwann Hub is an enclosed area with minimal ventilation, with 35 workers working side by side for hours.

“Also why didn’t they inform us about the first case? It was Christmas week, and we could have easily infected and spread the virus to our families. I only found out through my colleagues, and no one was sent to get tests done. Why are there protocols if they’re not following them?”

Two reports have since been made to the Health Department.

MaltaPost has denied the allegations, saying that all directives, instructions and guidelines issued by the Public Health Authorities.

It confirmed that an employee who works at a Postal Delivery Group at San Ġwann Hub was found positive on 26th December, when the hub was on shut down, following a swab test this person took on Christmas Day in order to travel abroad. However, it didn’t disclose whether employees were informed or asked to quarantine.

Meanwhile, the second positive case did not report for work on 8th January, when they were tested positive.

“The colleagues of this employee were instructed not to report for work on the following day. Instead, these were sent by the Company to take a swab test conducted by the Health Authorities. All employees tested negative,” it said, adding that the area was closed until the following Monday and sanitised.

Photo: MaltaPost 

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