Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1226904
7 Tales from the COVID-19 frontline With the majority of Maltese workers shut in at home, we still need the services of a few professionals who are braving the COVID-19 epidemic to provide essential services. MATTHEW AGIUS asked a few of them how the virus was affecting their day to day existence maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 MARCH 2020 NEWS tre distance policy, we have intro- duced mandatory daily temperature checks by the Red Cross to all staff and employees and people rendering a service entering the supermarket, mandatory hand sanitisation of hands and trolleys upon entrance which is supervised by the Red Cross standing at each entrance. We have set up mul- tiple points with signage advising the customers and staff about these new policies as well as ongoing audiovisual notices being played throughout the shop floor on a regular basis." Online orders have exploded for su- permarkets, he said, replacing crowds on the shop-floor. "The shop floor is relatively quiet as many people are choosing to stay away from crowded places. We have had to increase the online team and delivery capacity in order to keep up with the influx of on- line orders... our business has shifted to a digital mode which is a phenom- enon that is occurring in many other businesses. "As employees we all do our man- datory part to ensure we keep our distance from people and each oth- er. I personally use a mask when I go down on the shop floor and sanitise my hands regularly at the hand sani- tisation stations now in place around the shop floor. "There are stricter measures that will be taken if the situation gets worse but so far we have not had to implement them." Police face long court delays Police sources told MaltaToday that the closure of the law courts was ob- viously going to cause delays, even to straightforward cases. Arrests are going on as normal, said one, but third-party service providers like Ap- pogg and interpreters are all working remotely. "Imagine trying to interro- gate someone through an interpreter, who is on the other side of a phone call." Pharmacist fears having to close if infected One community pharmacist told us that she is "surviving day by day" and that despite everything work is "somehow still extremely busy." She spoke of exhaustion, taking four times as many phone calls as nor- mal, as well as dealing with walk-in customers and handling requests for doctors. "Sometimes people come to the pharmacy with no prescription I'd have to call the doctor to confirm details." The fact that people are only being allowed in one at a time is an additional stress burden for the phar- macist who can see queues building up outside. "And in the background there is the worry that we have to be extra careful not to get sick... we'd need to quar- antine the whole pharmacy. I worry that I'd need to close the pharmacy and how would POYC (Pharmacy of Your Choice) customers get their medicines? What are we going to do when pharmacists start ending up in quarantine because of contact with infected persons? "There is nothing easy about this." But the pharmacist had nothing but praise for the health authorities, who she said "are doing a great job, look- ing out for us". "I personally feel that we have sup- port out there. The earlier closing hours are a good idea as this equates to an extra hour of safety and an extra hour of rest." The pharmacist observed with con- cern that she was still seeing elderly patients coming to collect things from the pharmacy, despite not living alone at home or who have children. "The more elderly people who come here, the more cases in hospital and the less beds available. This is not the time to be shy, if you need to ask someone to help you, you ask. If you are young and not at risk, go and help them." Military prepares for battle KURT SANSONE SOLDIERS will be living at their barracks as the military prepares for "any eventu- ality" in the country's battle against the coronavirus, the army chief said. Armed Forces of Malta commander Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi told MaltaToday preparations were underway to ensure the military was at the beck and call of the ci- vilian authorities whenever needed. The army is already providing support in the distribution of food and medicines to elderly people who cannot leave their house. But it may be required to provide more logistical support over the coming weeks as more restrictions are introduced. "The army's regular work, including sea rescues, will continue but I have to ensure that we are prepared for any eventuality if and when the government requires our assistance during this pandemic," Curmi said. An internal exercise took place to deter- mine how many soldiers will be unable to attend to their duties as a result of the re- strictive measures imposed on vulnerable people. "I have to ensure the well-being of our personnel and their families, but soldiers, like police officers, will be prepared to re- spond to the crisis," Curmi said, adding that soldiers will be living at the barracks. On Friday, Home Affairs Minister By- ron Camilleri said the police force had prepared a contingency plan to ca- ter for scenarios where the corps would have to operate with fewer officers as a result of sickness. Police have been involved in spot-checks, along with En- vironmental Health officials, of people in quarantine. They have also been given the pow- er to disperse groups of more than five people gathered in public places and ask them to stay two me- tres apart. If the government opts for a full lock- down, the army may be called in to boost police efforts, apart from providing sup- port to relief efforts. should fear coming to hospital for treatment," Falzon told MaltaToday. Just last week she was compelled to make an appeal on televi- sion for people to continue visiting the emergency department if necessary. "At one point, we had an empty emer- gency area... and this is bad because peo- ple who truly need to come and see us will eventually come to us in a much worse state that requires more re- sources to treat," she said. Since the appeal, more people have started making use of the emergency depart- ment. Fear that they may contract the coronavirus from Mater Dei Hospital has driven many to stay away from hospital at considerable health risk if the condition is serious. "I do not blame people be- cause they do not know what precautionary measures we have taken but our hospital and staff are prepared and What is also very real is the fear for yourself and your family. Most people have resorted not to meeting with family, but what if you live with your parents? every measure is being taken to avoid the risk of coronavi- rus spread among patients and staff members," Falzon said. Her advice is that anybody re- quiring hospital services, includ- ing pregnant women, should continue to do so. "People who need emergen- cy treatment and those whose medical appointments have not been cancelled should continue to visit hospital because it will help avoid complications further down the line," she said. ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Mater Dei CEO Celia Falzon