Unity Pharmacy at Nex mall in Serangoon temporarily closed after retail assistant diagnosed with Covid-19

SINGAPORE — The Unity Pharmacy at Nex mall in Serangoon will be temporarily closed for two days after a part-time retail assistant who had last worked there on Monday (March 30) was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Wednesday, the pharmacy chain said in a statement.

The standalone store will be closed for two days for deep cleaning to disinfect the premises, Unity said. It will reopen on Friday.

The employee visited the doctor on March 31 for a fever and has since been on medical leave. The statement did not disclose the gender or age of the infected retail assistant.

Unity said that the company is extending all the necessary assistance to the affected staff members and the employee’s family during this time.

All staff members who work at the store have since been put on leave of absence.

The company is monitoring the situation closely and is working with the authorities to assist them with contact tracing and to ensure all stores are safe for customers and workers.

“Unity apologises for any inconvenience caused and would like to assure the community that it is sparing no effort to protect its staff and customers so that they can continue to work and shop in a safe and healthy environment,” it said.

The company added that since the onset of Covid-19, it has put in place stringent precautionary measures to maintain a safe and clean environment for its shoppers and workers in accordance with the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.

These include stepping up cleaning regimes — especially for frequently touched surfaces such as shelves and checkout counters — every four hours.

Unity added that all employees and suppliers have their temperature taken at least twice a day and hand sanitisers have been made available for customers to use.

Unity is part of the social enterprise of supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice.

Earlier on Wednesday, the supermarket operator said that its FairPrice Finest supermarket outlet at Bedok Mall will be temporarily closed after an employee there was diagnosed with Covid-19.

FairPrice said that the infected staff member works in the supermarket's backend replenishing stock and has minimal contact with customers.