Iceland’s managing director Richard Walker has urged people to get vaccinated, as more staff members have been forced to take time off as a result of the spread of the Omicron variant.
Walker revealed that the rise in infection rates have started to impact the level of staff absences.
He revealed absence rates at the British grocer has surpassed levels reached during earlier lockdowns.
READ MORE: Iceland slashes Christmas veg prices to just 1p a pack
He 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.”
Yesterday, the UK reported more than 100,000 new daily infections for the first time.
However, the plea comes as Walker revealed said that his staff will not make customers wear masks when they became mandatory in late November.
Instead, he said the supermarket would focus on the “long-term recovery of the high street”, suggesting the new rules could “discourage” shopping.
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