Six cargo company staff at East Midlands Airport have tested positive for coronavirus.

It is understood that several more are awaiting test results after an outbreak in the Swissport team based at the Airport, just miles from Ashby.

Colleagues were informed by email yesterday evening that a number of staff had tested positive.

The email, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, states that those with the virus 'are feeling unwell in varying degrees, but no-one would be considered extremely unwell'.

The memo goes on to remind staff of the hands, face, space message before the author signs off saying: "Always wear the PPE provided, change it regularly if you feel it is required.

"Your safety is paramount, please protect yourselves and your colleagues.

"We will keep you updated with the progress of your colleagues and ensure we update you with any new cases."

A Swissport spokesperson confirmed that some members of its East Midlands based team had contracted Covid-19 but did not give details of the job roles of those who have tested positive.

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She said: "We can confirm that six of our staff at East Midlands Airport (EMA) have tested positive for COVID-19 and are self-isolating in their own homes.

"We are providing full support to them and the other members of staff at EMA and the Quality Health Safety and Environment (QHSE) Director has been at the airport carrying out a full COVID-19 health and safety check and has reported no further cases, at this stage.

"As a precautionary measure we have undertaken a deep clean of all ground handling equipment, reported the cases via the NHS Test and Trace App and are in close contact with the local authority as well as the airport owners (Manchester Airports Group).

"In line with Public Health England guidelines, all those staff members that had been in close contact with these individuals have been asked to self-isolate."

She added: "The health and safety of all our staff throughout this challenging period remains our top priority and we're taking every possible step to minimise the risk of infection in the workplace.

"All our staff continue to wear masks to protect themselves and passengers, and we have been regularly communicating with all our staff to encourage working from home wherever possible and reiterate the importance of hygiene, social distancing and self-isolation procedures in place under government guidelines.

"We have been in touch with Public Health England and are continuing to monitor the situation closely, keeping them fully appraised of the situation."

An EMA spokesperson added: "Keeping our passengers and colleagues safe during the current pandemic is paramount. That is why we have introduced a range of measures across the airport, including safety screens, extra hand sanitiser stations and enhanced cleaning regimes.

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"This is on top of the government requirement for all those inside the terminal to wear a face covering and observe social distancing wherever possible."