Food sales continued within the framework of the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers; In order to control the measures to be taken for markets, butchers and bakeries on site, Girne Municipality monitors the enterprises in the region within a continuous program.
In order to control the Covid-19 Epidemic, which affects the whole world, within the city borders, Girne Municipality teams continue their work without interruption.
Grocery stores, butchers and bakeries
In the information given from Girne Municipality; In the past week 5/10 April, a total of four supermarket establishments, which were found to have inadequate hygiene measures regarding Covid-19, were closed and sealed. Businesses that remained closed for 24 hours were allowed to re-operate as they had taken the necessary measures.
In the inspections carried out for the protection of public health, besides the criteria related to food safety, it was also checked whether the measures that the Council of Ministers deemed necessary to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic were followed. In addition, preventing overcrowding within the market, ensuring the 2-meter distance of the citizens, the use of gloves and masks of the personnel in charge at the market, providing gloves and hand disinfectants at the entrances is a legally mandatory measure.
Girne Municipality Health Branch Supervisor Naile Soyel said:
“The reliability of our food, which is indispensable in life, is of vital importance in the hard times we are experiencing. Since we need a strong metabolism to protect against the Covid-19 epidemic, we need to question the reliability of food as much as we need to be healthy. The World Health Organisation points out that Covid-19 is transmitted through breathing or contact, so serious risks may arise from contact if the personal hygiene of the personnel involved in the production and sale of food is not fully ensured. It is very clear that we all have to act under strict rules, and in this critical process, in accordance with the measures laid down by the Council of Ministers, the Municipality will stop the activities of businesses in food preparation and sales if the measures deemed necessary are insufficient.”
“In order to manage this pandemic, the effects of which we are experiencing simultaneously with the whole world, the applications must be provided in an integrated manner. What falls on our community members is that besides their own personal protection measures in food supplies, they need to protect food carefully.
If the packaging of the food purchased from the markets is to be disinfected, it should be done very carefully; because the contamination of the disinfectant chemical that will remain on the packaging can also create other health risks. Foods purchased; If it is to be cooked, possible virus transmission will already be eliminated. We must take great care in our hand hygiene before preparing or consuming food. We should be careful to wash our hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Attention should also be paid to the hygiene of the area in which we eat, as well as the general hygiene of the home kitchen. Food products such as vegetables and fruits, which are not cooked, should be washed thoroughly in plenty of water before consumption. The water is safe and does not carry any risk of virus since disinfection is applied regularly to the water supply provided by our Municipality through chlorination.”
Mayor Nidai Güngördü said :
“With this critical quarantine process, in which homes are closed as a society, and all businesses that have to work to ensure the continuity of life, providing service in line with the decisions announced by the Council of Ministers is vital. Routine checks by our Municipality teams, which are also mobilised for the control and follow-up, will continue. The necessary sanctions will be applied in case of any danger to our people. At this point, I invite all of society to follow the rules with sensitivity, and I sincerely thank the example made by businesses that have taken their own precautions.”
