Supermarket outlet reopens following infection scare

Manama

A popular supermarket chain that was forced to close one of its outlets due to a suspected case of coronavirus (COVID-19) with one of its staff members has reopened the branch.

Management of Alosa Supermarket announced yesterday on social media that the team member expected to have been infected with the coronavirus has tested negative. Nonetheless, the team member will still be self-isolating over a recommended period.

In light of this, Alosra’s Najibi Centre branch has reopened following its temporary closure on Tuesday as a precautionary measure.

The outlet has also been “professionally disinfected and sanitised by a certified service provider and concerned authorities,” the chain said on its online post.

“We are happy to report that the team member in question tested negative (not infected) for COVID-19,” it said. “As a precaution, the team member will be spending the recommended time in self-isolation.”

The post added: “We understand that our move to close the Najibi Centre outlet has caused concern and stress but we feel that we have a responsibility to help protect the communities we are privileged to serve and as such felt that we needed to act quickly and transparently the moment we had news of a potential threat.”

It continued: “Our Alosra Najibi Centre outlet has since been professionally disinfected and sanitised by a certified service provider and concerned authorities. We are open as normal from today onwards.

“We are following the advice of all government and public health authorities, and proactively implementing a range of precautionary measures. All outlets are deep cleaned every night, and we have further amplified the stringent processes that we already have in place to minimise the spread of COVID-19.”