The staff, who are now
recovering at home, are reported to be baggage handlers at London’s Heathrow
Airport.
Two British Airways staff
have tested positive for coronavirus.
The development has brought
the total number of infected persons in the UK to 163.
However, the airline has
encouraged its staff to take unpaid leave as the disease keeps spreading around
the globe.
“Public Health England
(PHE) has confirmed that two members of our staff, have tested positive for the
Covid-19 virus,” British Airways said in a statement.
“The welfare of our
passengers and colleagues is our top priority. A dedicated team from Public
Health England is in place at Heathrow to respond to any incidents.”
The airport is also
cleaning surfaces and providing hand sanitisers to workers “to protect
themselves and our passengers.”
A spokesman for Public
Health England said that Heathrow already has enhanced monitoring for certain
flights and that while it won’t comment on individual cases, in any positive
test the department conducts contact tracing, aimed at locating everyone the
person has made contact with.
British Airways, the
biggest operator at London Heathrow, has already scrapped all flights to China,
taking steps to slow down on destinations in Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
The carrier this week
announced that it would scrap change fees on all new bookings made between
March 3 and March 16, to spur travellers to book tickets.
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