BBC Staff Told To Wear 'Proximity Devices' To Enforce Covid Rules

Anyone who breaks coronavirus social distancing rules will get an "alert".
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BBC staff will be told to wear social distancing “proximity devices” to ensure they keep away from each other.

In an internal email seen by HuffPost UK, BBC managing director Bob Shennan said the new Covid measures would apply to some “broadcast critical” employees.

“Social distancing proximity devices will be rolled out in key BBC locations to help maintain safe social distancing,” he said.

“Anyone coming into those offices will be asked to wear the devices, which will alert wearers when they’re less than two metres apart from someone else.”

Details of what form the devices will take and how staff who stray too close to colleagues will be alerted have yet to be provided.

Lateral flow coronavirus tests will also be introduced from next week for everyone coming into a BBC building on a regular basis.

People who enter the broadcaster’s buildings for four or more days a week will be tested twice per week.

And those who are regularly in for three days or fewer will receive one test a week.

Earlier this week the BBC announced it would deliver the “biggest education offer in its history” for school pupils across its networks.

The move comes after Boris Johnson put England into a national lockdown, while schools are also currently closed to most pupils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

From Monday, CBBC will offer three hours of primary school programming from 9am, while BBC Two will support pupils studying for their GCSEs with at least two hours of dedicated programming each weekday.

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