Cape Town – A second Shoprite store in Cape Town has had to close after an employee tested positive for Covid-19.
Last week Tuesday, the Shoprite store in Bothasig had to close and on Sunday its Athlone store was closed until further notice after an employee tested positive for Covid-19.
On Sunday, the Pick n Pay in Waterstone Village in Somerset West was temporarily closed after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19.
"The (Athlone) store closed immediately and a professional decontamination company was brought in to sanitise and deep clean the store.
"The provincial Department of Health will give notice when the store may be reopened," Shoprite said in a statement.
"An employee screening programme supported by the company’s mobile clinic has immediately been put into place. Those who had close contact with the infected person are now self-quarantining for 14 days.
“We have informed the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the Department of Health.”
Last Tuesday, Shoprite said a mobile clinic was immediately dispatched to the store and all employees were tested.
Those who worked closely with the infected staff member are now at home and will remain in self-isolation for 14 days, monitoring themselves for any symptoms.
All employees returning to work will be temperature tested and the mobile clinic will remain on site until the testing is wrapped up.
The retailer said face shields are sanitised on the hour and other strict hygiene practices will remain in place.
The Pick n Pay in Waterstone Village in Somerset West said in a statement on Sunday: “One of our staff was sent home on Thursday after reporting that she was not feeling well.”
The retailer moved quickly to trace her close contacts and asked them to self-isolate.
"We have been busy deep cleaning the store as a precaution and it will reopen tomorrow morning,” it said.
The rest of the mall was not affected and other shops remained open.