READING'S Ikea store has today (November 18) confirmed that 73 members of staff are self isolating due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the store.

A spokesman revealed that 13 employees from the Pincents Kiln Industrial Park store in Theale tested positive for the virus, with a further 60 notified by the track and trace app.

READ MORE: Reading B&Q Covid outbreak 

All are currently self isolating.

Kim Chin-Sung, IKEA Reading Market Manager, said: "The health and safety of our customers and co-workers is our top priority and we have extremely, robust safety measures in place, including social distancing, protective screens and additional regular cleaning.

"On Saturday, we were made aware that a co-worker had tested positive for COVID-19.

"Shortly after this, other co-workers began receiving alerts from the NHS Track and Trace System in the normal way, and were immediately sent home to self-isolate on full pay.

"In line with government guidance, our store is closed to customers and is operating a contactless Click & Collect service.

"As an additional precaution we have significantly reduced our operation on-site.

"No co-workers are being forced to work and those who can work or learn from home, are being asked to do so.

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"Should any co-worker be concerned, we ask them to speak directly to their line manager.

"We are monitoring and managing the situation in accordance with our usual stringent processes and government guidelines."

The store has a population of 361 employees.

The news comes as another Reading store, B&Q, also confirmed today that a smaller outbreak among staff had seen the shop closed for a deep clean yesterday.