The 21-day
lockdown as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa has forced many businesses,
big and small, to adapt the way they do business.
Keeping
social distances of at least 1 meter is one of the measures that have been
implemented to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Limiting the number of
clients allowed inside a business, is another measure that has been implemented
to enforce social distancing.
Another
safety measure of extreme importance is to wash or sanitize your hands
regularly. Many businesses, especially bigger retailers, now have stations
where clients can either disinfect their hands with liquid sanitizer or
sanitizing wipes. Some smaller businesses have canisters with water placed over
basins where clients can wash their hands with soap before entering the shop.
Beach Road
Café in Hawston is one of the smaller businesses that have implemented these
measures not only to ensure their and their staff’s safety but also the safety
of their customers.
The owners,
Rhonda and Robin Smith, has ensured that each staff members has his or her own
sanitizing spray, facial masks and disposable gloves. They have also pasted
markings on the floor to indicate where clients should stand to keep their
social distance. A bottle of sanitizer has also been placed at the ATM inside
the store so clients can disinfect the keypad before and after use.
“We
disinfect our floors and counters throughout the day. The same goes for the
card facilities,” said Rhonda. “We have
also started educating people, telling them to make a list so they come in as
little as possible and asking them not to take their children along when they
go out.”
The shop
also displays several posters distributed by the Department of Health to create
awareness around Covid-19.
In the days
before lockdown was implemented, says Rhonda, their shop wasn’t as busy as most
of their customers had to wait until they got paid before they could stock up
on essentials.
“The
Thursday before lockdown came into effect was extremely busy with customers
coming in to stock up mainly on flour, cooking oil, sugar, rice, yeast, maize
meal and boxes of milk.
“Since then
it has been much quieter. Less feet means less money for us but we see it as a
good thing because it means people are adhering to lockdown rules,” said
Rhonda.
