Pick n Pay is committed to taking all necessary action to fight the spread of Coronavirus.

We are cleaning our stores even more rigorously, including sanitizing all till points throughout the day, and sanitising our trolleys frequently.

We are requiring our staff to uphold stringent personal hygiene, including frequent and proper hand-washing.

We are also making hand sanitisers readily available for customers in our stores.

Our policies are guided by authoritative scientific experts including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the South African Ministry of Health.

Some customers have asked us why our staff are not wearing face masks and gloves. The WHO clearly advises that a healthy person should only wear a face mask if they are taking care of someone suspected of having coronavirus, or if they are coughing themselves.

This is not applicable to our stores, where we apply a strict policy that any staff who have a cough or fever must stay at home or, if they are working, report immediately to their manager to be removed from duty.

The WHO is also clear that the wearing of rubber gloves while working or serving customers does not prevent infection from the Coronavirus. You can still pick up the virus on the surface of the glove and then infect yourself if you touch your eyes, mouth, or nose.

Based on guidelines from the WHO, regularly washing your hands properly and using an appropriate hand sanitiser offers more protection against Coronavirus than wearing rubber gloves.

This is why our staff are not wearing face masks or gloves.

We can assure you that will continue to be guided by WHO, NICD and the South African Ministry of Health on the best precautionary measures to use to fight the spread of this virus.