Northgate Pick n Pay closed as worker tests positive

Shoppers were turned away from Pick n Pay’s Northgate Hypermarket on Tuesday after a staffer tested positive for Covid-19.

The supermarket chain did not say when the shop would reopen, but confirmed that extensive deep-cleaning was taking place on the premises on Tuesday.

The supermarket is located in Joburg’s Region C, which has an estimated 990 active cases as of Tuesday.

The Johannesburg region as a whole has nearly 8 000 active Covid-19 cases, with the most prevalent areas being Joburg South, the inner-city, Soweto, Alexandra and Sandton.

“Pick n Pay Hypermarket Northgate is temporarily closed after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus today.

“The staff member’s close contacts were immediately traced and they will self-quarantine for the required period.

“As a precaution, the remainder of the store staff who were not in close contact with the staff member will be screened by health practitioners,” said a spokesperson for Pick n Pay on Tuesday.

The supermarket said it had appointed a “specialist cleaning team” to deep-clean the entire shop.

The confirmed case at the supermarket comes as confirmed Covid-19 infections reached 100 000 on Monday night and nine lives away from reaching 2 000 deaths.

Gauteng, statistically, has the most active Covid-19 cases in the country, with 16 600 people living with the virus.

This is followed by the Western Cape, which has just over 15 100 active cases. The Western Cape government announced last month that they would adopt a targeted testing approach at public healthcare facilities, which would see them prioritise testing for people over 55, health workers, the vulnerable and high-risk cases.

“Like all other retailers, we have had to temporarily close some stores since lockdown and we have followed our protocol to the letter each time. We liaise closely with the health authorities before safely reopening each store.

“The health and safety of our customers and staff is a top priority. We are cleaning our stores even more rigorously, including sanitising all till points after each transaction, and sanitising our trolleys frequently,” said Pick n Pay.

They said all their stores had Covid-19 preventative measures, including Perspex screens at all till points, and all staff have face masks.

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Source: IOL