MEDIA RELEASE
It is increasingly recognised that the COVID-19 pandemic may last 1 to 2 years. It is expected that COVID-19 cases will rebound episodically and we will have to control each ‘wave’ until it gradually fades over time. Hence retail outlets, especially supermarkets, will have to adjust to this situation and continue to maintain a safe environment for shoppers and staff.
Supermarkets play an important role in COVID-19 prevention. Many supermarkets have put in place measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 at their premises. However, as the Movement Control Order is relaxed, and client numbers increase, supermarkets will have to be even more vigilant.
This guide aims to help standardise the measures to be taken by all supermarkets, as well as offer ideas and initiatives that could be taken.
Some of the measures include:
- For staff: Training and retraining, need for personal protective equipment, cleaning routines for the supermarket premises and trolleys, contactless payment, staff meal times and risk of socialising, regular staff monitoring and health checks, family safety and appendices for useful information.
- For shoppers, the guide covers safe physical distancing, hand-washing and disinfection, use of masks, temperature screening and priority shopping time slots.
- The guide offers ideas on how to determine the maximum number of shoppers to be allowed into the premises and how to ‘speed up’ the shopping episode.
Attention to detail and adherence to a strong routine of standardised measures will help us through these difficult times.
Contributors to this guide include:
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS, Consultant Paediatrician
Yuenwah San, Senior Advisor on Disability Inclusion, Social Development Division, United Nations ESCAP
Datin Dr Swee-Im Lim, retired Medical Practitioner
Ernest Balasingam, Lawyer & Trainer (HR Compliance & Regulatory)
Source: Amar-Singh HSS, Yuenwah San, Swee-Im Lim, Balasingam E. 2020. Safety Guide for Supermarkets to Standardise COVID-19 Prevention. Malaysia. Version 1, 22nd April 2020. Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0
Download guideline here:
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