Fidelity Bank Plc. has announced that one of its staff returning from holidays in the UK has tested positive for COVID-19 but its proactiveness may have averted the possible spread to others.
According to the bank, the staff went into self-isolation and testing in line with the bank’s policy that mandates staff/family members who have travelled overseas in recent times to self-isolate for 14 days and test for the virus before returning to work. The test returned positive and he was immediately moved to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for further examination and treatment.
Though the staff has not been to work since his return, the contact tracing embarked upon by the bank showed that he brought back items for two colleagues who have also been made to self-isolate and test. In other measures, the office where they work has been temporarily closed.
The bank in a statement by its Divisional Head, Brand & Communications, Charles Aigbe, said, “In line with the collective resolve to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Fidelity Bank, as a responsible corporate citizen, wishes to join in sharing information with the public as follows;
Fidelity Bank mandates staff or immediate family member(s) who travel out of the country to self-isolate for two weeks and obtain medical clearance before returning to work as part of our COVID-19 Preventive and Precautionary Measures.
“This process was activated and strictly adhered to by one of our staff members who returned from holidays in the United Kingdom.
“He was in self-isolation and underwent testing in line with the bank’s policy. The test results returned positive at the weekend and we quickly arranged for him to be moved to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), where he is currently being attended to by health officials.
“We are in constant touch with him and have been monitoring the situation closely. Our thoughts and prayers are with him”.
Aigbe stated that apart from the directive on isolation and testing for staff and family members who have had trips abroad within this period, the bank has in place, several other precautionary measures as advised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health institutions.
They include;
Body temperature screening of staff and visitors before being allowed access to all our premises
Wearing of gloves and facemasks by all our frontline staff.
Reduction in the number of staff expected to come to work. 60% of our staff now work remotely from home.
Reduction of the number customers allowed at a time into our banking halls to a maximum of five.
Encouragement of good personal hygiene and deployment of hand sanitizers at all our office locations.
Social distancing and abolition of physical meetings and large gatherings
Deployment of video conferencing and other devices to allow for remote meetings.”
Fidelity Bank, he stated, places a high premium on health and safety and will “continue to do everything to ensure the health and safety of all, including customers, vendors, staff and indeed everyone who comes into our premises.”