Fidelity Bank says one of its staff returning from holidays in the UK has tested positive for COVID-19 but the bank’s proactiveness may have have averted its possible spread to others.
The staff according to a press statement issued by the bank today, went into self-isolation and testing in line with the bank’s policy that mandates staff/family members who have traveled overseas in recent time to self isolate for 14 days and test for the virus before retiring to work.
The test retuned positive and he was immediately moved to the NCDC for further examination and treatment.
Though the staff has not been to work since his return, the contact tracing embarked upon by Fidelity Bank in the wake of this discovery show that he bright 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.
See full text of the statement:
Press Statement
COVOID-19 UPDATE.
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 the country to self-isolate for 2 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.
·Though the staff has not been at the bank since returning from the UK, he however brought some consignments for two other staff which were delivered to them individually.
·We have self-isolated the 2 individuals and sent them for necessary testing. In addition the office where these 2 individuals work, has been temporarily shut and has been disinfected. Due to the proactive measures taken by the bank, contact tracing within the bank was very swift and conclusive with no customers involved.
·We have also shut down our Federal Secretariat, Abuja Business Office and advised all staff/vendors to self-isolate and go for testing in line with our policy on COVID-19, on account of possible exposure of a vendor staff.
·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 5.
·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 places a high premium on health and safety. We shall continue to do everything within our means to ensure the health and safety of all, including customers, vendors, staff and indeed everyone who comes into our premises.
Thank you.
Charles Aigbe
Divisional Head, Brand & Communications
