Twenty-eight Romanians working in UK test positive for SARS-CoV-2

Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) reported on Tuesday that 28 Romanian nationals working in the United Kingdom have been confirmed as infected with SARS-CoV-2.

It says in a press statement that the Romanian Embassy in London acted on information carried by the local media that 73 workers working on a farm in Herefordshire had tested positive and undertook emergency steps with the local authorities, the Department of Public Health and the employer to get more information about the citizenship, identity and health status of the persons concerned.

According to preliminary information gathered on Monday evening from representatives of the employment agency, approximately 100 Romanian nationals work on the farm in question, and 28 of them tested positive for SARS -CoV-2. The Romanian nationals are asymptomatic, they are in good health, being daily monitored by the Public Health Service.

Also, according to information released to the embassy by the representatives of the British company through which some of the Romanian nationals carry out their activity at that farm, the workers were placed in isolation, being provided with food and other necessities. The workers placed in isolation are exempted from paying rent for the time they are isolated.

Representatives of the British local authorities, including translators, are also present at the farm in question. MAE says that as of now, nobody is working on the farm.

The Romanian Embassy in London continues the dialogue with the local authorities and is ready to provide consular assistance, in accordance with its legal powers and in strict compliance with the measures adopted by the British authorities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

MAE says Romanian nationals in the UK can request consular assistance by calling the Romanian Embassy in London: +44 20 76027328, +44 20 7602 9833, +44 20 7603 6694, +44 20 76025193, +44 20 7603 0572, + 44 20 7602 2065. The calls are being rerouted to the Centre for Contact and Support to Romanian Nationals Abroad (CCSCRS) and picked by call centre operators 24/7. Also, the Romanian citizens who face a difficult, special situation of an emergency nature can call the emergency line of the Romanian diplomatic mission: +44 7738716335.