Scotiabank employees diagnosed with COVID-19

Scotiabank says three employees attached to its head office in Kingston and Old Harbour branch have tested positive for COVID-19 over the past two days.

In a press release on Thursday, Scotiabank said the affected staff members were sent home in mid-August to self-quarantine as soon as they advised they were experiencing flu-like symptoms as per the company’s internal policies.

The respective departments also underwent deep cleaning and sanitization at that time.

Consequently, Scotia said no further action is currently required as none of the employees has been back to work for the past two weeks.

Nonetheless, Scotiabank said it is currently working with the Ministry of Health and Wellness to follow all protocols and to have other directly exposed staff members in the respective units tested.

“Our highest priority is always to protect the health and safety of our staff and customers and we have been taking every precaution to ensure that we adhere to all safety guidelines” advised David Noel, President and CEO of Scotia Group Jamaica.

“Out of an abundance of caution, all team members are sent home for 14 days at the onset of any flu-like symptoms.”

The Scotia CEO further added: “Even though there will be no disruption to any of our services as a result of these developments, we thought it necessary to share this information with the public as we continue to work together to contain the COVID-19 virus.”

Scotiabank said it has implemented several measures to minimise the spread of the coronavirus including enforcement of social distancing at all locations; a requirement that all visitors/customers wear face masks (these may need to be temporarily removed for in-branch transactions requiring ID confirmation); installation of partitions in-branch transaction areas and frequent deep cleaning of our branches and offices every business day.

In the meantime, Scotiabank is encouraging customers to take the necessary precautions to remain safe. The financial institution is also reminding clients to utilise its online banking platform and mobile app.