Subscribe
By DeCA Corporate Communications
Localized for Fort Riley audiences
FORT LEE, Va. – Commissaries are requiring some form of face covering for store employees and customers to enter a commissary.
The Defense Commissary Agency guidance applies where there is no local policy in place. Fort Riley does have a policy which states, “The Senior Commander has directed that, starting on Monday, April 13, all patrons entering the Fort Riley commissary, PX and Shoppettes will be required to wear face coverings.”
“If an installation commander has already issued a directive to require face coverings in DeCA commissaries, this order shall not supersede their policy, and all patrons and employees shall adhere to current rules,” Bianchi said. “Many bases have already imposed this requirement, but at locations where there is no guidance, this is protection of our employees and our customers.”
DeCA’s guidance falls in line with April 5 Department of Defense guidance mandating that “all individuals on DOD property, installations and facilities will wear cloth face coverings when they cannot maintain 6 feet of social distance in public areas or work centers.”
On April 3, DeCA announced to employees that the commissary agency is purchasing disposable masks and gloves through the commercial supply system that will be made available to employees as fast as possible.
As supplies of masks and gloves make their way to commissaries, store employees are wearing their own masks or some form of material such as scarfs, bandannas, clean t-shirts or cloths to cover the nose and mouth.
Army Lt. Col. Angela Parham, DeCA’s director of health and safety, emphasized PPE is only one part of the preventive measures required to help combat COVID-19 and aligns with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“DOD’s face covering mandate aligns with CDC guidance to help prevent asymptomatic people, who may not know they’re infected, from spreading the virus to healthy folks,” Parham said. “Even when you wear a mask or other face covering, it is still important to practice good hand hygiene, social distancing, and refrain from touching your face.”
In addition to requiring face coverings for employees and customers, commissaries have implemented the following operational policies to help make stores safer during this pandemic:
• Commissaries are installing clear, acrylic sneeze shields in all regular checkout lanes to add extra protection for customers and cashiers.
• Commissary personnel are wiping down checkout areas, product display cases, restrooms and shopping carts with disinfectant, and practicing routine hand washing and other basic sanitation measures to reduce transmission risk.
• Hand sanitizer is provided at each register and staff are encouraged to use it at the end of each patron transaction.
• DeCA encourages its employees to closely monitor their health, and asks them to stay home if they, or someone in their household, are sick.
• Stores are working with their installations to implement procedures regarding social distancing.
• A “no visitors” policy was instituted to reduce the number of people in the stores.
• Patrons cannot bring reusable bags into the commissary to help reduce the risk of virus.
• Cashiers no longer handle patron ID cards. Instead, customers will be asked to scan their own ID or cashiers can use the handheld scanner if available.
• DeCA encourages the use of credit or debit transactions to limit the use of cash and coins
• Local commissaries work closely with the public health assets on the installation to monitor transmission risk related to staff and patrons.
• Commissaries have temporarily suspended the requirement to sign credit card receipts to prevent multi patron handling of the credit card reader pen.
“We will continue to follow the highest standards of DOD health protection in our stores,” Bianchi said. “DeCA’s objective is always to deliver the necessary goods our customers need in stores that are safe and clean for them and our employees.”
For Fort Riley customers, Peter Howell, Fort Riley Commissary store manager, said following the guidance is critical.
“I would add that it is of great importance to me that our employees stay safe and healthy,” Howell said. “Without them, the heart of the operation, we cannot deliver this vital benefit to our deserving military, their families and retirees. Our folks are out there every day providing this service at this time of concern with an extreme dedication to this mission.”
Howell said the employees are vital in maintaining the goals to protect, prevent and preserve, when it comes to COVID-19 measures. Customers also have a big part of that mission.
“I would ask that everyone take note and practice the social distancing while in the store to help all of us from getting sick, and only touch the product you intend to purchase.”
Fort Riley Commissary customers can continue to refer to the installation’s official COVID-19 information at https://home.army.mil/riley/index.php/my-fort/all-services/coronavirus-information. This site is updated daily as new information is available.
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.13.2020 08:35 |
| Story ID: | 367217 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 146 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort Riley Commissary shoppers required to use face covering, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
