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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Owen Hughes

'Get jabbed' says Iceland boss as supermarket chain has 700 workers off due to Covid

Iceland boss Richard Walker has urged people to get vaccinated amid rising cases of staff off work sick at the supermarket giant.

The managing director at the Deeside based frozen food chain said the absentee rate at Iceland has surged in line with the spread of the Omicron variant.

Mr Walker tweeted: “Interesting to note that previous lockdowns all coincided with our Covid absence rate breaching 600-650 colleagues. Today’s is 700.

“Please let’s all get jabbed folks!

"Last thing we want or business needs is another lockdown.”

Mr Walker has been vocal about the impact of coronavirus on businesses and earlier this month said Iceland cannot afford to police mask wearing in shops.

Richard Walker, who urged shoppers to wear masks, said it would cost millions to ensure customers visiting his stores were covering their faces.

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