Three members of staff at a Royal Mail delivery office have tested positive for coronavirus.

Eighteen workers are now having to self-isolate and bosses say they have carried out intensive cleaning of the Addington Road premises in Margate following the outbreak.

Extra resources have been drafted in to cover the staff absence.

A Royal Mail spokesman says the company takes the health and safety of its colleagues, its customers and the local communities in which it operates very seriously.

"There are currently three colleagues that have tested positive for coronavirus at Margate delivery office and 18 staff are self-isolating," the spokesman said.

"We have carried out an intensive clean of the site and have organised additional cleaning of key touch points and all communal areas.

"We are keeping the Communication Workers Union, Public Health England and colleagues updated.

"We are working hard to deliver a normal service as best we can, and have drawn in extra resource."

The spokesman says they have put in place a range of preventive measures to protect both customers and colleagues, adding: "We were the first UK company to put in place social-distancing measures in relation to parcel delivery. We pioneered contact-free delivery.

"We are temporarily not handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures.

"As well as encouraging good hand hygiene, standard ways of working have been revised to ensure that colleagues maintain appropriate social distancing at all times.

"All staff have been briefed about the social distancing measures jointly agreed by local management and the CWU.

"This has been supplemented with visible reminders such as posters and one-way floor markings."

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