How do I get my kitchen Covid-19 ready?
During the Covid-19 pandemic we have to make sure our workplace is 100% sanitized.
To accomplish this we need to adhere to strict government regulations regarding safety and hygiene in the workplace. Hygiene should always be top priority in the kitchen and this time the spotlight is on the industry to see how we handle high risk situations.
The worst nightmare for any restaurant or factory owner is having a break out of Covid-19 that could have been avoided.
What measures should I have in place to prevent an outbreak?
Here is a Summary of government recommendations to implement proper control measures. These were updated at the end of march and might be slightly out of date, but still relevant!
- Installing high-efficiency air filters.
- Increasing ventilation rates in the work environment.
- Installing physical barriers such as face shields.
- Encouraging sick workers to stay at home.
- Minimizing contact among workers, clients, and customers by replacing face-to-face meetings with virtual communications e.g. conference calls, Skype, etc.
- Minimizing the number of workers on site at any given time e.g. rotation or shift work.
- Discontinuing nonessential local and international travel. Regularly check travel advice from the Department of Health at: www.health.gov.za
- Developing emergency communications plans, including a task team for answering workers’ concerns and internet-based communications, if feasible.
- Providing workers with up-to-date education and training on COVID-19 risk factors and protective behaviors (e.g. cough etiquette and care of PPE).
- Training workers who need to use protective clothing and equipment on how to put it on, use/wear it and take it off
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Tip for washing your hands:
Hum a song in your head that’s at least 20seconds long.
What equipment is essential for running my business during lock down level 4?
- Hand sanitizer Or a 5l Sani Kleen hand sanitizer at least 70% alcohol content needs to be readily available at every entrance. We also have Chlorex scrup 500ml
- Disinfectant 750ml dilution should last a week for sanitizing work surfaces
- Only paper towel may be used to dry your hands on after washing them – strictly no fabric towels.
- Face masks a day Or visors if you can’t maintain a distance of at least 1.5m. In some instances it will be necessary to up a physical barrier. Everyone on the premises – including suppliers – must wear masks at all times. A minimum of two cloth masks must be provided to each employee, free of charge. One can be used on the commute to and from work, the other while at the workplace. An employer must ensure that these masks are washed.
While unsure about the upkeep of fabric masks in the kitchen we recommend using disposable masks that can be recycled once thrown away. Workers must be educated about using a face mask correctly.
The employer is responsible for the PPE equipment that staff are using.
All safety equipment should be discarded in an appropriate manner.
What can be recycled should be recycled.
What about all the plastic waste?
Plastic waste can be ecobricked and when the eco brick is complete it can be dropped off at any of these locations on waste.eds site! https://waste-ed.co.za/the-ecobrick/
Eco bricks are a great way of ridding extra plastic you don’t want to end up in landfills or rubbish bins. This can be a time consuming effort but the environmental impact is worth the end result!
Source:
Business insider https://www.businessinsider.co.za/covid19-coronavirus-rules-business-companies-workplace-regulations-masks-2020-5
Government department of labour
