Two of Malta’s most popular shops - Valyou Supermarket and SCAN - have confirmed staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Both establishments are exempt from the closure laws introduced by the government last month amid the virus outbreak because they sell what is considered as ‘essential goods’.
In a statement, the supermarket said that both its store and the shopping areas in its Naxxar outlet were sanitised on Monday after a warehouse worker tested positive for the novel virus.
The supermarket said the authorities allowed it to continue operating after the necessary sanitisation measures were taken.
Valyou supermarket in Naxxar was sanitised after a warehouse employee tested positive for coronavirus. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli“The worker is a storekeeper and had not been in contact with any clients. His colleagues in the store have meanwhile also been put under mandatory quarantine,” the supermarket said.
The supermarket’s comments had been echoed by Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci, who confirmed the worker had not been in contact with any of the supermarket’s customers as he was based in the store and not the main shopping areas.
Meanwhile, electronics store SCAN announced on Wednesday it would be “shutting down all operations”, including deliveries and servicing “until further notice”. The decision came after two of the shop’s sales staff tested positive for the coronavirus.
“We are extremely sorry for the disruption in our services. Please bear with us until we make sure all our staff are safe to return to work,” SCAN said on its Facebook page.
Regular customers of the two establishments commended the decision to publicly confirm staff members had tested positive for the virus, saying they appreciated not being kept in the dark.
The cases at Valyou and SCAN come a week after a Lidl store in Safi was temporarily closed after a worker there tested positive for the coronavirus.
All non-essential shops and services have been closed since March 23, a decision taken by the government to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Malta has as of Wednesday registered a total of 299 coronavirus cases. Five people have recovered while two patients have died.