Muscat: The Muscat Municipality has cautioned the retail commercial outlets falling under 118 categories that have been allowed to operate from June 9 after Supreme Committee decision.
Accordingly, all the outlets from manufacturing to shoe repair, computers to quarries, exchange houses, fodder and many other falling under goods and services sector have been urged to follow the safety mandate to the core or face punitive action including fines and suspension of licence, etc.
All the outlets have been asked to register visiting hours of customers, their 'in' and 'out' time to assess the amount of time they spend inside the premises.
"A registry has been introduced to record the appointment system for customers to help reduce time spent in the outlet and to keep track on time allowed to them," a spokesperson at the health division of the Muscat Municipality said.
There should be a mechanism to assess the body temperature of the employees and customers according to respiratory symptoms on a daily basis before entering into the outlet and not allowing those who have Covid-19 symptoms to enter the premises.
No shaking hands, no hugging is allowed and all the workers appointed inside the shops must wash their hands frequently with soap and water, or sterilise them using alcohol-based sterilisers and wear PPE throughout.
"Remember, the personal protective equipment such as helmets, gloves, and face masks shouldn't be shared between two people," he added.
Transparent barriers depending on the risk rate of infection should be established within the premises and at least two metres' physical distance between an employee and the customer should be maintained.
Electronic means and digital documents should be used to minimise human contact. Employees shouldn't be transfered from one branch to another.
"All common devices and equipment such as telephones, tablets, mobile ATMs, and others used by the employees must be sterilized," he added.
The other precautionary measures against Covid-19 are still valid:
1) Avoid touching the eyes, mouth, and nose with unclean hands or after touching contaminated surfaces.
2) Make sure to cover mouth and nose with a tissue or use elbow when coughing or sneezing.
3) Ensure proper ventilation within the premises.
4) Intensified cleaning process must be practised at the workplace and the workers' residence using the recommended cleaning liquids.
5) Provide a suitable residence for the workers with standard physical distance limits.
6) In the event of infected cases found or there are contacts with infected cases, self-isolation facility must be provided with places for sanitary isolation with a toilet.
7) Ensure continuous disinfection, especially for frequently contacted surfaces such as drawer handles and doors is in place.
8) Face masks should be worn tightly keeping less or no space between the face and the muzzle and avoid touching them.
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