A DIAMOND Bus driver based at Redditch died of Covid-19 just days after finishing his last shift.
The 55-year-old, who has not been named and lived in Birmingham, passed away on February 22.
It is understood he was one of seven members of staff that have contracted coronavirus in February.
Diamond’s managing director Bob Baker said the driver who had died, a family man, had been ‘close to him’ and asked for his privacy to be respected.
However in an early reported statement he said of the driver: “I have worked with him for nearly 20 years.
“The problem I had was nobody saw it coming.
“He was in work on February 18 and passed away on February 21.”
Mr Baker also confirmed there had been seven cases of Covid in February, but only nine since March last year, and of the seven recent cases, four of their partners had tested positive before them.
Redditch is high on the list of government areas for concern due to the number of Covid cases in the town.
This has been attributed to the nature of the town’s employment – many residents are unable to work from home and have been taking public transport to get to work.
To deal with the changing nature of the pandemic Mr Baker said Diamond Buses were on the 11th version of their risk assessments.
Every vehicle now has a screen to protect drivers and the firm daily uses the latest thermos fogging technology to kill Covid.
Drivers are also equipped with facemasks and sanitising equipment to keep their cabs clean.
