Coronavirus: Cardiff Sky call centre workers test positive

Sky's call centre is based in Cardiff's new Capital Quarter in Butetown

Call centre workers are self-isolating in Cardiff after testing positive for coronavirus.

Sky confirmed three staff members at its contact centre had Covid-19 and the building had been closed on Friday.

It comes as Public Health Wales figures confirmed 14 new cases in Cardiff, the highest figure in 11 weeks.

Sky said safety was its top priority and it had a robust contact tracing programme in place.

Back in March, the office on Capital Quarter on Tyndall Street was evacuated and shut for deep cleaning after concerns about a worker.

"We are closing the contact centre today and sending everyone home as a precaution," a spokesman said.

"We're contacting anyone who has been in contact with our colleagues, the centre itself has recently been deep cleaned and will be deep cleaned again over the weekend."

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On Friday, Public Health Wales (PHW) figures showed out of the 34 new confirmed cases, 14 - the highest number - were in Cardiff, with the next highest number being in Caerphilly, with four cases.

The last time the daily number in the capital area was at that level was at the start of June.

A PHW spokesperson confirmed an investigation was "ongoing into a small number of cases at a Sky call centre in Cardiff".

"As we move into the recovery phase of the coronavirus pandemic, we expect to see clusters in settings such as workplaces," the spokesperson said.

"We manage any clusters of coronavirus appropriately, including by providing advice around infection prevention and control, and by supporting contact tracing where required."

Speaking to Gareth Lewis on BBC Radio Wales, Robin Howe from PHW urged younger people to follow the guidelines.

He said: "It's not so much a statistical blip as a number of small clusters which are being brought under control and the public can do their bit by following the guidance.

"It looks like cases at the moment are most commonly within the 20 to 29-year-olds age group, so we'd make a plea for younger people to please don't go mad and try and follow all that guidance around social distancing and handwashing etc."