Retailer implementing measures to keep shoppers safe

CITY Pharmacy Ltd is implementing coronavirus preventive measures at its Stop & Shop and City Pharmacy outlets in Port Moresby.
Managing director Mahesh Patel told customers not to worry about dwindling stock and not to panic buying as the company had ample stores of various products to cover the lockdown period.
“We will still operate,” he said during a Covid-19 awareness exercise at the SNS Waigani Central in Port Moresby yesterday. “It is business as usual, and simply, there is no need to panic.”
Patel said measures like social distancing – being a metre apart – were announced every five minutes in the shops and staff were also disinfecting trollies and food baskets, shelves, benches and counters regularly.
“We are encouraging customers to just follow basic hygiene, we will be putting up messages here, we are putting staff now to regularly clean and disinfect benches, trollies and shopping baskets,” he said.
“Our staff are getting hand sanitisers to make sure that in the food areas, there is different a grade of disinfectants, but the messages to the customers is that we have got plenty of stocks for the next three months.
“We might be intermittently out of stock because people are buying lots of it, so for us to refill the stock, it takes time.
“We are trying to do everything that we can and remember, in the next 10 days. If we can follow these basic hygiene steps, the discipline, the guidelines, PNG could be declared a green zone.
“Don’t be greedy, because there will be stock tomorrow, so shop as normal.
“We will never close down unless the Government forces us to close down because people need healthcare and they need food.” Patel said.