Red Co-operative is business as usual; taking health precautions

By Justin Seward

Commentator/Courier

Red Hat Co-operative is running operations as if it was a typical work week.
However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is taking health precautions as employees come through the door.
“We’re taking the temperatures of employees as they arrive for work to ensure no one has a fever, ”said Gillian Digman, the company’s general manager.
“Obviously if anybody is showing any symptoms, we’re asking them to stay home and self-isolate and we have couple of people who are doing that right now.
The vegetable processing company has also segregated break time to decrease the number of people going all at once, she added.
Digman says last Monday they were trialing some plexiglass shields on a few of the line-service areas where people are working closely together than the physical distance.
A couple of weeks ago, orders went up significantly, while last week they tapered back to what the company would call normal, according to Digman.
“I would say the normal orders we get from Sobey’s and Safeway, maybe 10 to 15 semi-loads a week,” she said.
“We’re listening to the advice from Alberta Health . We’re monitoring that closely and whenever they bring out modifications to the rules (or) suggestions, we’re implementing them where we can in the plan. The safety of our employers and being able to get food out to communities is really important to us.”
Red Hat Co-operative has been supporting the food bank and the food programs around town as well as Medicine Hat, Calgary and Edmonton.
Meanwhile other businesses in town have taken measures including temporary closures of the seniors centre, Redcliff Legion, Redcliff Youth Centre and the library The bakery is open from 7 a.m.- 2 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday for take out and deliver only. Who’s on Third and BB’s Doll House is closed, but will have a door-to-door delivery service. More information on the services is available by calling Chris Czember at (403) 502-4228. Redcliff Home Hardware is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday and has eliminated the late hours on Thursday and Friday.