The rising number of Covid-19 cases nationwide has definitely led to the closure of many social sectors such as sports facilities, outlets in shopping malls and nightclubs. With the incorporated Hotspot Identification by Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system, supermarkets and malls with an identified number of Covid-19 cases were forced to cease operations for a few days, to incorporate heavy sanitisation measures throughout the building.
The system also raised awareness among the public to be on the lookout for potential Covid-19 hotspots. However, some malls and supermarkets, to prevent losing their customers, have taken drastic measures to conceal the Covid-19 status in their respective buildings.
Recently, a worker at a popular supermarket in the Klang Valley accused the company of covering up Covid-19 cases in several branches. In addition to that, they have yet to close or sanitise the outlets. According to Free Malaysia Today, the worker stated that there was an outbreak of about 80 cases at one of their outlets in mid-July and it further, doubled to 200 with staff members from other branches being assigned to help the affected outlet. What’s worse was the fact that the outlet was closed, but it wasn’t sanitised!
Upon the reopening of the outlet, the workers from other outlets were assigned to help out and his branch was requested to send their staff to help. However, the aforementioned worker refused to go. As a result, some of his own colleagues contracted the virus, unfortunately. The worker, for fear of his health and the health of others, decided to self-quarantine for about one week and went back to work on 16th July after testing negative for Covid-19. Adding on to this, the worker was shocked to see everyone keeping quiet about the outbreak.
Sadly, the worker’s worst nightmare turned into a reality — he ended up being Covid-19 positive and checked into a quarantine centre. Albeit testing positive for Covid-19, the outlet was not closed. He even went to the extent of sending his test results to his manager. However, there was no response and the outlet remained open. That’s not all! For the past one and a half years, there have been infections at several other branches but they have stayed open, nevertheless.
The evidently frustrated worker, accused the supermarket of ignoring his complaints and failing to offer sufficient protection for the staff of the outlet. Even the face masks and gloves worn by the workers were not provided by his employers. The identity of this mysterious supermarket has yet to be known. However, a few netizens have speculated that this supermarket might be either NSK, Aeon Big or Aeon.
Nevertheless, it is indeed crucial for the management of supermarkets to be responsible citizens and to shut down immediately if there are outbreaks of Covid-19 within the building. They should also be providing their workers with disposable masks and gloves to prevent them from being infected with Covid-19 and from infecting the customers with it!
Hopefully, if this allegation is proven to be true, the authorities would take strict measures against them.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
