GEORGE BUSINESS NEWS - Have you considered how safe you are against the coronavirus when shopping? Is the card machine sanitised before you put in your PIN? Or is there sanitiser at the pay point so that you can sanitise your hands after handling cash? 

Does the cashier sanitise his/her hands between customers or before they handle your groceries? Does the guard at the door spray enough sanitiser on your hands to disinfect them properly?

Scientists warn that the possibility of a much worse and deadlier third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic will be inevitable if the vaccination programme is not accelerated. 

But while vaccination has not been launched full-scale, simple behavioural changes help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and the workplace and businesses play a huge role in this regard.

Below are some pointers from the City of Cape Town's guide on protocols that should be in place in businesses. The complete guide can be found on the Western Cape Government website at https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/.

If you are a customer and notice that these measures are not in place at a business where you shop, you can report it anonymously on a simple complaint form on the website.

Guide for businesses:

• Counters, credit card machines and any other frequently used and touched objects must be cleaned after each customer.
• Employees should sanitise their hands before and after assisting each customer.
• Where possible, customers should process card payments themselves, thereby minimising contact with the cashier.
• Contactless systems should be encouraged at pay points.
• Electronic payments should not require further signing of any paper receipts.
• Customers should also sanitise their hands before and after interaction with an employee.
• If doors are not automated, keep them open where possible to minimise touching of door handles. Otherwise, position an employee (e.g. a security guard) at the door to open it for visitors.
• Anyone entering the premises must sanitise their hands on entering and exiting, especially if they touched the door handles.
• An employee placed at the entrance may be instructed to spray sanitiser onto the hands of people entering / exiting the premises.
• Biometric (fingerprint) access should be either disabled or sanitised before and after each use.
• Anyone entering the premises must wear a cloth mask.
• It is preferable that the employee sprays the sanitiser on the customer's hands instead of handing over the sanitiser bottle.
• Perspex® or glass guards may be used at customer service points to create a barrier between the customer and the employee.
• This should be accompanied by signage instructing that neither side of the guard should be touched. Both sides of the guard must also be cleaned regularly with soap, water and disinfectant.
• Employees must also wash their hands after they have touched people and/or surfaces and objects.
• Prevent people from entering the premises if there are too many people inside already. Allow a maximum of one person (including employees and customers) per 6m².
• Minimise queuing by implemen-ting appointment systems wherever possible.
• Where queuing cannot be avoided, ensure that customers adhere to physical distancing by placing markers on the floor to delineate 1½m intervals. Reinforce this by displaying appropriate signage and allocating an employee to monitor that distancing is adhered to.
• If a seated waiting area is used, seat people away from one another and limit the number that can be accommodated in the waiting room.
• Wipe the seats in the waiting area with a 70% alcohol solution after each use.
• Ensure that facilities are available for all employees and customers / visitors to wash their hands, or use alcohol-based hand sanitiser frequently.

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