Khayelitsha SuperSpar gets green light to reopen after two employees test positive

The Khayelitsha SuperSpar has been visited by the Western Cape Department of Health following cases of Covid-19 among its staff.

In a social media post, the store confirmed that two employees had tested positive for coronavirus.

It said it had been given the all clear to open and would do so on Monday. The store closed on Thursday.

“All the necessary protocols and procedures have been followed and completed as requested by the Western Cape government and the Department of Health,” the post stated.

“The health and safety of customers, the community and all staff remain the highest priority at Khayelitsha SuperSpar. Our store, along with all SPAR stores, has been unfailingly diligent in implementing measures to limit the risk of Covid-19 transmission during the lockdown period.”

The two employees who tested positive have not been on duty – one from 7 April and the other from 14 April. Both tested positive on Thursday, according to the post. Colleagues who had been in contact with the two employees, and high-risk staff members, were isolating. In addition, all staff would be tested and the store would be decontaminated twice a week.

Western Cape health department spokesperson Mark van der Heever confirmed that they had visited the store, but was unable to provide further details.

He explained that the department followed a protocol in which a team visits the store, runs a tracing operation to isolate any staff who may have had contact with the positive patient, and then decontaminates the store.

Any positive patients would be isolated. As such, there should be no risk to shoppers following this process, he said.

Premier Alan Winde on Friday confirmed that there had been 743 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection recorded in the province. Of those, 33 patients were in hospital, with 16 in ICU.

Of the total number of cases in the Western Cape, 31 are in the Khayelitsha sub-district.