Businesses urged to report coronavirus cases amid surge in Sandwell
Health officials have written to all businesses in Sandwell in a bid to stop a surge of coronavirus cases in the borough.
Companies have been advised of their "responsibility" to notify authorities if they two or more employees have Covid-19.
It follows a spike of cases in Smethwick while a third of workers at a West Bromwich factory have been affected by the virus.
The latest data shows the rolling seven-day rate of new Covid-19 cases in Sandwell has increased from 8.6 per 100,000 people to 22.3 after 73 new people tested positive.
The letter says businesses must alert authorities within two weeks if there have been two or more cases.
In some circumstances, public health teams have only found out about outbreaks when there has been dozens of cases.
Sandwell's public health director, Dr Lisa McNally, said: "Businesses need to understand that it is their responsibility to inform the council’s public health team if they have two or more cases of Covid-19, by emailing PHCovid19_Enquiries@sandwell.gov.uk immediately.
"Unfortunately, the data we receive from government on cases does not include employment information, which leaves us reliant on businesses to keep us informed."
Sandwell Council's interim leader Maria Crompton added: "The sooner we can intervene the more we can help - so firms must let us know if they have any concerns.
"I would appeal to people to stay at home as much as possible and stick to social distancing rules.
"The virus has not gone away – as this worrying surge in cases clearly shows."
At CBS Packaging, in West Bromwich, 22 employees have tested positive for Covid-19, while a further 15 people are off work with symptoms, said a council spokesman.
The letter, delivered to businesses, has been translated into five foreign languages spoken in Sandwell which are Punjabi, Polish, Slovak, Somali and Urdu.
