MORE than a dozen people have tested positive for coronavirus at a council call centre in Newcastle.

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) has asked the majority of staff at its South Gosforth site, which also acts as a call centre for Newcastle City Council, to stay at home after the outbreak.

It has been confirmed that 15 staff at the Benton Park Road site have tested positive for Covid-19, three are showing symptoms, and a further 10 have been told to self-isolate.

Bosses say that people trying to get through to the call centre will have to put up with longer wait times due to a “significant reduction” in staffing levels, but that services are still running.

YHN said that of the 51 staff it should have working at the call centre this week, only 18 are currently able to work from home but IT equipment should be sent out to 16 more this week – with that continuing “rapidly until we have as many people working from home as possible”.

Staff answering calls to the Ostara service, which responds to emergency calls from people who have fallen, are unwell or feel unsafe in their homes, will still be based at the call centre – as will those working night shifts.

Jen Vinton, director of customer services at YHN, said: “We can confirm that a number of our staff in the Contact Centre have tested positive for Covid-19. In line with guidance they are now self-isolating from home and we wish them a speedy recovery.

“While our contact centre remains operational, customers may experience longer waiting times than normal. We apologise for any inconvenience and thank the public for their patience.”

As well as handling calls on council housing issues, the contact centre also takes inquiries for other local authority areas including parking, registrars, and complaints.

YHN says it is now implementing its Covid disaster recovery plan, which will mean focusing on critical services until more people are able to work remotely and diverting some calls for housing repairs directly to its repairs and construction team.