The Medway Mail Centre, on Knight Road, has since been subjected to an ‘enhanced clean’ while the workers quarantine at home, a Royal Mail spokesperson said. Other staff members who may have come into contact with the employees are also self-isolating.

The depot has not been closed, but measures will continue to be enacted across the site in a bid to prevent further outbreaks. The centre deals with around 2,000,000 items on an average day.

Preventative measures include ensuring workers are each two metres apart in the depot and only allowing one person in a Royal Mail delivery vehicle at any one time.

All staff have also been briefed about the social distancing measures jointly agreed by local management and the Communication Workers Union, the spokesperson said.

They continued: ‘Royal Mail takes the health and safety of its colleagues, its customers and the local communities in which we operate very seriously.

‘Following three positive tests for coronavirus at the Medway Mail Centre, we have carried out an enhanced clean of the area where the individuals worked, and colleagues who worked with the individuals have all been notified and are self-isolating.’