READING Borough Council has called for the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) run Quarantine Management Facility (QMF) in Reading to urgently close.
It follows a significant outbreak at the DHSC facility in central Reading which has been linked to several positive cases of the 'Delta' variant which originated in India in the local community.
A cumulative total of 44 positive cases of COVID-19 have been identified among residents and staff at DHSC quarantine facility in the Penta Hotel on the Oxford Road since it opened in late April.
The majority are confirmed by Public Health England (PHE) as being the Delta variant.
The council said positive cases have spread between guests and hotel and security staff based at the Government-run facility.
At this time, it is believed at least three cases in the community have been directly linked to the outbreak at the hotel. Contact tracing of known positive cases linked to the outbreak has been completed with subsequent action taken. Public Health England continue to monitor the local situation closely.
Four areas in Reading are now part of a local surge testing operation, including RG1 7**, which is where the Government operated quarantine hotel is located. However, it is important to note that local analysis of ‘Delta’ variant cases in Reading indicate more than one source of spread in the local community. Other surge testing areas in Reading are RG1 5**, RG1 6** and RG1 3** and a full list of sites and opening hours is available at www.reading.gov.uk/testnow.
Reading Borough Council believes that the spread of the variant both inside the hotel and, in several cases into the wider community, could have been avoided had the correct safety procedures been in place from when the hotel first opened.
Retrieved from: https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/19360418.indian-variant-found-reading-penta-hotel/ (9 Jun 2021)
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