POSTAL services in Basingstoke are expected to improve from early next week as Royal Mail said most of its staff should be back at work by then.

As previously reported, Basingstoke’s delivery office in Priestley Road has been experiencing “very high levels of absence” following a Covid outbreak.

Royal Mail has now confirmed that five members of staff tested positive for Covid, and that there have been no more positive cases at the Basingstoke delivery office.

It added: “We wish our five sick colleagues a speedy recovery at home. Over the past two weeks, many of our colleagues have had to self-isolate in line with Test and Trace guidance.

"This has inevitably taken a toll on local service levels, but we continue to provide the most comprehensive service we can, with most customers receiving mail on alternate days at the very least. We expect the majority of our colleagues to return to work by early next week.”

It added: “We are managing the situation by offering our people additional overtime and deploying additional temporary workers. We continue to take necessary precautions and preventative measures.

"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.”

Royal Mail previously told the Gazette that 29 members of staff were isolating through test and trace guidance.

A member of staff who works at the delivery office said that more than 70 of his colleagues were off work as a result.

Royal Mail did not confirm how many staff were off work altogether.