by Curlan Campbell, NOW Grenada
- Plexiglass barricades at cashier checkpoints and MoneyGram operators for staff safety
- Supermarkets prepare to accommodate hundreds of customers over the weekend
- Shoppers reminded to wear face masks and maintain physical distancing protocol
Shoppers at Foodland Supermarkets should expect to see plexiglass protective barricades at the cashier checkpoints amid concerns for staff safety while having to deal with a large volume of customers during the coronavirus outbreak.
George F Huggins & Company (Huggins), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Anya Chow Chung, disclosed this as the supermarkets prepare to accommodate hundreds of customers over the weekend.
This precautionary measure was deemed appropriate after witnessing the mad rush of shoppers on Monday, and ahead of the next shopping days this Saturday and Sunday. The supermarkets, owned and operated by Huggins, also have in place a contingency plan in the event that their employees do contract the virus.
“We will do everything in our power to mitigate the risk that our employees will potentially face at this time. From the very beginning, we have had isolation protocols in every single operation. We have [people] being designated as isolators so if an employee were to exhibit symptoms of the virus on the job, there is a strict procedure in place in terms of isolating the employee and then handing them into the care of the Ministry of Health or returning employees to their place of residence,” Chow Chung said.
She said that from the last shopping day allotted by government on Monday, the management of the supermarkets ensured that the environment was properly sanitised and that customers’ hands upon entry were properly disinfected. She said these measures will be heightened over the weekend. “There are various areas that we have identified that are high risks that we seek to address at this time. It’s all about risk mitigation. Now I don’t think it is possible to eliminate risk of contraction of the virus completely, but it is all about mitigating those risks to slow and eliminate the spread of the virus.”
Chow Chung said several lessons were learned from the last experience that will help guide changes in the way they engage with their customers going forward. She reminds shoppers to ensure that they wear face masks at all times and maintain the physical distancing protocol while standing in line.
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Why not set up online shopping and a delivery service?? Surely that’s the best way to ensure physical distancing?
Why not place orders and shoppers collect. Thjs will prevent clise contacts. In Grenada there is no need for this mad rush for food especially in the rural communities. Start healthy eating to fight the virus
Excellent idea. We have the technology. All you need is a phone and whatsapp to make this happen.
Angelina – I agree – this weekend is going to be crazy after a 4 day no-shopping break and I think a lot of people will not get what they need – especially since they split the alphabet at the middle letter = M but in fact about 70% of peoples names fall into A-M so its going to be a very unequal split….
Barbados has stopped in supermarket shopping. You have to WhatsApp , email your order . Prepackaged orders for the less tech savvy..
Why does our government herd everyone together in a few hours? Do they want us to get infected as fast as possible?? They’re making us go like sheep to the slaughter!! Limit contact and spread everyone out over the whole week!