Woolworths has confirmed that the sign is old and now all customers and staff are required to wear marks as per health regulations.
Durban – International retail giant, Woolworths, has refuted allegations made on social media that they will not enforce the wearing of masks and gloves in their stores.
On Monday, a photograph surfaced on social media of a sign outside a Woolworths store.
The sign read: “In line with the World Health Organisation (WHO), we have been advised against the use of face masks as they do not prove to be effective in preventing infection for the wearer. Also gloves are no effective because research has shown that microbial standards are better achieved when people wash their hands correctly, and people will more regularly wash their hands when not wearing gloves. Gloves have further been shown to lead to sweating which again incubates microbes.”
However, responding to questions by The Mercury, a Woolworths spoken said the image was old.
“This was signage that was in store at the start of lockdown. This stance has since changed and all our people wear masks and or visors,” the spokesperson said.
Woolworths also responded to a Facebook post questioning the statement on the sign.
“All our staff wear masks and we require customers to do the same,” the response read.
On Monday, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, urged people to continue wearing masks despite the downgrading to level 2 which came into effect from midnight on Monday.
According to the WHO, a fabric mask acts as a barrier to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The Mercury
