KNYSNA NEWS - The growing number of Covid-19 cases in Knysna has become a cause for concern for many locals, and when the Department of Employment and Labour visited businesses in Knysna last week it became all too evident why the town has seen a spike, according to the department's inspectorate, who subsequently shut down some stores until they complied with regulations.

Chief inspector David Esau, along with a group of investigators, paid Knysna a visit last Thursday 25 June and visited 10 businesses in the CBD. During his visit, Esau noticed a few alarming trends among the businesses and in the town too.

"The two biggest issues are, in my opinion, a huge lack of social distancing around town and then, within stores, a lack of reporting of cases and tracing is a major concern," Esau said. "There is also a lack of PPE in many instances, and this is a huge problem.

'No social distancing'
One particular area of concern for Esau is Knysna Mall, where he feels social distancing has not been not implemented sufficiently. "There needs to be a measure of control. The stores might be implementing social distancing inside, but when it comes to queuing outside there is not social distancing in place," he said. "If I have to shut down the entire mall, then I will do so."

Centre manager Ingrid Milne was surprised to hear the inspector's thoughts, as she believes they have sufficient measures in place. "I feel we've done enough to promote and enforce social distancing within the mall, but when it comes to queuing outside a specific shop, that onus falls on the store and not us," she said. 

"We also haven't been contacted by the inspector yet, so I did not know these were his thoughts."

Of the 10 businesses which Esau and his inspectorate team visited last week, six were handed either full or partial prohibition notices. The difference between the two, he explained, is that a partial notice closes off only one section of the store while a full notice shuts down the entire shop. This prohibition lasts until the business can prove it has put requisite measures in place to comply with regulations.

"Superspar was only issued with a partial prohibition notice because of issues within their receiving area," Esau explained. "However, I was impressed by their PPE of the staff at their tills. They have also provided us with evidence that they have remedied the issues within the receiving area.

Clicks was slapped with a full prohibition notice. Photo: Blake Linder

Swift action
After being issued with the prohibition notice, Spar enlisted the help of André Vermaak who now acts as the store's Covid-19 consultant. According to Vermaak, the retailer acted swiftly to get its receiving area open again. 

"We've introduced a Covid-19 compliance manager at the store to ensure guidelines are followed, and we've enhanced the measures that are taken when a delivery comes in," Vermaak explained. "We've also ensured a comprehensive list of individuals in the receiving area is kept to ensure easier tracing if there is a future virus case."

Of the six stores that received notices, only two were issued with full prohibition notices, meaning they had to close – Clicks and Checkers. "At Checkers there was almost no social distancing evident, and they did not have the necessary PPE either. At Clicks, the staff did not practise social distancing in their own capacity." 

Esau explained that the Clicks staff canteen area was largely overcrowded, with no social distancing in place and some staff not even wearing masks. In his view, this is a large cause of concern because "containment of the virus starts in the workplace. If it is not implemented sufficiently then it will accelerate the spread of the virus, and this is what's happened in Knysna".

In response to the shop closure, the Shoprite Group media team stated that a professional decontamination company was brought in to sanitise and deep-clean the store, and that an employee screening programme supported by the company's mobile clinic was put into place. 

"The Shoprite Group can confirm that Checkers Knysna closed on Thursday 25 June 2020 following confirmation of positive testing for Covid-19 at the store," it said. 

"The Shoprite Group has proactively acted to safeguard its employees and customers and will continue to do whatever is within its power to protect their wellbeing and health. The group works closely with the various authorities and the store reopened during the course of the day on Friday 26 June."

According to Sedick Arendse, Clicks chief store operations officer, the Knysna store also conducted a deep-clean on 25 June after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19. "The department of labour completed a risk assessment and the store reopened on 26 June. The department added (i) additional posting of a notice for staff social-distancing protocols, (ii) an additional clean of the canteen and, (iii) a review of the distance between cashiers."

Esau and his inspectorate will now be looking to inspect businesses in George and Oudtshoorn in the coming week or two, and will thereafter return to Knysna.

'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'