The latest Global COVID Safety Alert relates to the sad death of a colleague in our operations overseas after contracting COVID.

While UK legislation relating to COVID controls has been largely relaxed, much of the governmental guidance remains in place and we should ensure we continue to follow the Behaviours that Save Lives to keep ourselves and others safe.  This is particularly relevant where, as in this case, people may be at increased risk due to underlying health conditions.

Please discuss this Alert with your teams, reminding them of the importance of regular lateral flow testing, isolation and reporting in the event of any specific COVID symptoms, avoiding crowded areas and using face coverings where required, good hygiene and the use of sanitiser, effective ventilation of canteens and meeting rooms and promoting vaccine take up, which has been proven as highly effective in reducing hospitalisation.

To provide additional context, it is worth considering that last week we saw an upturn in positive cases in CEMEX UK, with 15 cases since Monday.  Currently we have 19 active cases, with small outbreaks at a couple of locations.  In addition, the HSE have visited one site and called another enquiring about our COVID Controls.  The Site Manager who took the call with the HSE reported that it lasted 25 minutes and they enquired about the site COVID Risk Assessment, control measures, communication about requirements and government guidance, the role of COVID Coordinators, the use of face coverings, sanitisation, ventilation and social distancing.

In addition to discussing the Alert with your team, please ensure it is displayed on relevant site notice boards. Please download from the download section in the UK News website:  Global COVID-19 Alert (862 downloads)