On Tuesday, the OFM News team reported on the shortage of hand sanitisers and masks that have gripped the country, since Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Thursday 5 March. Clicks Chief Commercial Officer, Rachel Wrigglesworth, has in a statement revealed some of the additional measures Clicks has put in place to safeguard against the spread of the virus in the retailer’s stores.

This includes encouraging their employees to wash their hands frequently, in addition to rolling out more trolley wipes and hand sanitizers in front of the stores and the pharmacy. Wrigglesworth says they have increased cleaning in the stores as well. The OFM News team paid a visit to several retailers in Bloemfontein on Tuesday finding that hand sanitisers and disinfectants have flown off the local shelves much like throughout other cities and towns in the country. At that stage, employees had no indication as to when stock would again be available.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus infections has risen to 13 as of today, with the Western Cape reporting its first case, joining Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in that regard. The bulk of the newly announced infections come from Gauteng, with four people testing positive for COVID-19.

Mkhize says “those who are symptomatic have started receiving treatment. Some of these patients are already in the hospital while some, specifically those who are asymptomatic, are in self-quarantine. Contact tracing has also started for all these cases”. Four of the people who tested positive arrived back in the country on 9 March 2020 after they travelled to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey.

OFM News