A CORONAVIRUS outbreak at one of South Wales' major employers has been declared as over.

Public Health Wales, in partnership with Swansea Council, Swansea Bay University Health Board and the Health and Safety Executive, has been meeting regularly to assist the DVLA with managing the impact of coronavirus in the workplace.

A coronavirus outbreak was declared at the DVLA in December.

At a multi-agency outbreak control meeting held on Wednesday, the current outbreak was declared as over.

Since September 1, a total of 560 cases of coronavirus amongst DVLA employees have been identified.

An outbreak in the DVLA’s Swansea Vale Contact Centre was declared on December 21, and since December 1 96 cases have been identified amongst employees that normally work in that building.

Siôn Lingard, consultant in health protection for Public Health Wales, said: “All agencies have been working in close collaboration with the DVLA to reduce the number of cases in this workforce.

“As a result of there being no linked cases amongst Contact Centre staff within the last 28 days, we can confirm that the decision has been taken to declare the outbreak over.

“We will continue to actively monitor the situation and the multi-agency Incident Management Team will continue to meet regularly and liaise with the DVLA.

“Workers in any workplace may be at risk from infection in social or household settings and so we remind members of the public in Wales that under tier 4 of Welsh Government’s tiered response to coronavirus everyone has a vital role in preventing the spread of coronavirus. They can do this by always observing social distancing guidelines, washing hands regularly, and adhering to the new restrictions.

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“If you or a member of your household develop a cough, fever or change in sense of taste or smell, you must self-isolate immediately and book a free coronavirus test, either by calling 119 or visiting www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

“As we all work to continue to drive down COVID case numbers generally and ease restrictions it is important we identify as many cases as possible to give advice and assistance to reduce transmission.

"Therefore Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda University Health Boards have worked with Welsh Government to extend the offer of COVID testing for those living in their areas. Here it is extended to those who have flu like illness, this includes headache, muscle aches, tiredness, sore throat and sneezing. The public can access testing in the same way they normally would.

“We remind the public that the more people that you mix with, the higher the risk of both transmitting and contracting coronavirus."

Julie Lennard, DVLA chief executive officer said: “We are pleased that Public Health Wales has confirmed that the outbreak in the contact centre in December is now over. 

"The safety of our staff is our top priority and we have worked extremely hard since the very start of the pandemic to implement and maintain safety measures in accordance with Welsh government guidance.

"The contact centre has been COVID free since 25 January with no cases there for over a month.  Currently six members of staff, out of a workforce of more than 6,000, have tested positive and are currently isolating at home. These include two staff who are working from home.

“We will continue to work with Public Health Wales, Swansea Council and Swansea Bay Health Board to keep our site COVID-19 secure.”