Kirk closed: what is the impact to the community?
Kirk Market has been advised by the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority that three of its team members have tested positive for COVID-19.
In a statement issued by the supermarket on Friday, it stated "We are in contact with the affected team members who are all asymptomatic. They have our full support, and we wish them all the best in their recovery."
As part of Kirk's COVID Emergency Response Plan, Kirk Market will be closed to the public today, May 9, "to conduct additional stringent sanitation and deep-cleaning procedures for the entire store." But with the supermarket re-opening on May 11 (Monday) many members of the public are wondering whether there are any added risks to shopping at the supermarket in the near future.
Based on the opinion of international food safety experts, if infected staff members have been quarantined and the remaining personnel have tested negative for the virus, there should be no additional risk to the public.
According to James Rogers, food safety expert at Consumer Reports, "it seems unlikely that groceries could carry enough virus to make you sick -- even if someone sneezed on that pile of fruit."
"All I can say is what I have seen from our federal regulatory agencies such as FDA or CDC that have indicated they have no evidence to suggest people are picking up this virus from packaging and getting sick," said Rogers in an interview with ABC News. "The belief tends to be that for that to happen, you have to have a perfect sequence of events." Rogers advises that despite the extremely low probability of virus transfer via groceries, shoppers should still make sure that their grocery items are clean once they return home.
Deon Mahoney, Head of Food Safety at the Produce Marketing Association Australia-New Zealand echoes, "It's important to remember that the threat is not food or food packaging, but other people."
Similar to the other major supermarkets on-island, Kirk's has been implementing precautions including the installation of plexiglass partitions, social distancing and observing the legally mandated alphabetized shopping hours/ days, as well as requiring that everyone have their hands sprayed with an alcohol-based sanitizer by one of its team members before entering the store. On Friday night, Kirk's modified its policy that all team members wear a mask and gloves, to require that all customers also wear face coverings when visiting the store.
Prior to the diagnoses, Kirk's went to lengths to enforce scheduled breaks for hand washing, splitting work schedules to minimize employee contact on the floor and in office, closing alternate checkout lanes to allow for checkout lines to be more spread out for social distancing, cleaning checkout lanes after each guest transaction, suspending food bars, adding rigorous cleaning procedures and dedicating checkout lane 14 to senior citizens over 60 and expectant mothers.
The supermarket has advised that "Meticulous contact tracing has been carried out to track down every colleague who has been in sustained or adjacent contact with the affected team-members. All close-contacts have been tested and excluded from work while we await their results from the HSA as they continue testing of all frontline workers throughout the island."
The supermarket further indicated that the safety of its team members and customers remains its highest priority and it would be collaborating with the HSA and following all recommended guidelines. The supermarket will continue to provide curbside pickup as a service of its pharmacy today.
The information provided in this article is based on opinions from global food safety specialists and should not be used as medical advice. As always, it is important to follow the instructions and guidance of the Chief Medical Officer of the Cayman Islands, medical personnel and the Cayman Islands Government.
As part of Kirk's COVID Emergency Response Plan, Kirk Market will be closed to the public today, May 9, "to conduct additional stringent sanitation and deep-cleaning procedures for the entire store." But with the supermarket re-opening on May 11 (Monday) many members of the public are wondering whether there are any added risks to shopping at the supermarket in the near future.
Based on the opinion of international food safety experts, if infected staff members have been quarantined and the remaining personnel have tested negative for the virus, there should be no additional risk to the public.
According to James Rogers, food safety expert at Consumer Reports, "it seems unlikely that groceries could carry enough virus to make you sick -- even if someone sneezed on that pile of fruit."
"All I can say is what I have seen from our federal regulatory agencies such as FDA or CDC that have indicated they have no evidence to suggest people are picking up this virus from packaging and getting sick," said Rogers in an interview with ABC News. "The belief tends to be that for that to happen, you have to have a perfect sequence of events." Rogers advises that despite the extremely low probability of virus transfer via groceries, shoppers should still make sure that their grocery items are clean once they return home.
Deon Mahoney, Head of Food Safety at the Produce Marketing Association Australia-New Zealand echoes, "It's important to remember that the threat is not food or food packaging, but other people."
Similar to the other major supermarkets on-island, Kirk's has been implementing precautions including the installation of plexiglass partitions, social distancing and observing the legally mandated alphabetized shopping hours/ days, as well as requiring that everyone have their hands sprayed with an alcohol-based sanitizer by one of its team members before entering the store. On Friday night, Kirk's modified its policy that all team members wear a mask and gloves, to require that all customers also wear face coverings when visiting the store.
Prior to the diagnoses, Kirk's went to lengths to enforce scheduled breaks for hand washing, splitting work schedules to minimize employee contact on the floor and in office, closing alternate checkout lanes to allow for checkout lines to be more spread out for social distancing, cleaning checkout lanes after each guest transaction, suspending food bars, adding rigorous cleaning procedures and dedicating checkout lane 14 to senior citizens over 60 and expectant mothers.
The supermarket has advised that "Meticulous contact tracing has been carried out to track down every colleague who has been in sustained or adjacent contact with the affected team-members. All close-contacts have been tested and excluded from work while we await their results from the HSA as they continue testing of all frontline workers throughout the island."
The supermarket further indicated that the safety of its team members and customers remains its highest priority and it would be collaborating with the HSA and following all recommended guidelines. The supermarket will continue to provide curbside pickup as a service of its pharmacy today.
The information provided in this article is based on opinions from global food safety specialists and should not be used as medical advice. As always, it is important to follow the instructions and guidance of the Chief Medical Officer of the Cayman Islands, medical personnel and the Cayman Islands Government.
