Coronavirus in Moray: Councillors criticise lack of hand sanitiser at HQ
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A group of three Moray councillors have expressed disappointment over the lack of hand sanitiser at the local authority's HQ in Elgin.
The three – Ryan Edwards, Derek Ross and Walter Wilson – all belong to the Moray Alliance Group (MAG).
Councillor Edwards (Heldon and Laich, Independent) said: "I find it totally unacceptable that the local authority have not taken the lead in Moray when in comes to tackling the Covid-19 virus and protecting our staff.
"We in the MAG believe that we have a duty of care to both the public and to our dedicated and wonderful staff.
"There is no hand sanitiser available outside of offices or at the exit/entrances to the building.
"We find this to be a negligent action by the management of Moray Council."
Councillor Ross (Speyside Glenlivet, Independent) added: "As a group we asked at an early stage for sanitisers to be at every entrance/exit as a minimum, but firmly believe this should extend to every office within all council buildings.
"There is no question that Moray council should be leading the way and their standards should be the benchmark."
A Moray Council spokesperson defended the lack of sanitiser and added that the local authority was advising staff to wash their hands using soap and water.
The spokesperson continued: "Sanitiser is less effective and is only a default where hand washing facilities are not available.
"Staff in offices all have access to these facilities.
"Access points are closed so there is no exposure to the public.
"The limited supplies of sanitiser we could access recently were being prioritised to the NHS and childcare hubs, but hand wipes have always been in place in strategic locations around the council."
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