Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS staffing data published on 11 February 2021 stating that there are 41,175 covid-19 related absences of staff, what assessment he has made of the reasons why NHS staff are being infected with covid-19; and what plans he has to mitigate against the infection of staff.

It is not possible to state how many infections amongst staff have been contracted in the workplace and how many have been infected through contacts outside the National Health Service.

It is for individual hospital trusts to carry out continual risk assessments of their premises and to put appropriate measures in place such as distancing, sanitising measures and the use of personal protective equipment to help minimise the spread of COVID-19, in line with nationally published guidance.