Live Mindfully

LIVE MINDFULLY.

Italtile’s Coronavirus Update.

We’re here to make life as beautiful as possible. That’s why we opened our doors just over 50 years ago. But we’ve learnt along the way that beautiful living begins with mindfulness. This continues to guide us going forward, while our thoughts are with those whose lives have been directly affected by the virus.

Like it or not, we have all been catapulted, rather suddenly, right out of our comfort zones into a time of social distancing, shutdowns, and event cancellations. Fear is peaking faster than the Coronavirus. At Italtile, it is our civic duty and our privilege to do what we can to help slow the curve.

The continued safety and comfort of our extended Italtile family is our number one priority right now. We have been briefed by our health and safety specialists and will continue to follow guidelines as set down by the NICD (The National Institute for Communicable Diseases) and the South African Department of Health. We take very seriously the role that business needs to play in ensuring the safety of all communities.

Keeping South Africa safe.

Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the topic of Covid-19 and the ramifications of a novel virus in Southern Africa in his speech to the nation on 15 March 2020. Here’s a succinct 23-point summary:

 The Government of South Africa declared a National State of Disaster

• Infected individuals as of Sunday 15 March 2020: 61
• Internal Transmission is occurring
• Appealed to SA to limit contact between persons
• Announced a travel ban from high-risk countries such as Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and China as of 18 March 2020.

South Africans are to refrain from travelling to:

• The United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, China, Iran and South Koreas.
• People who visited high-risk countries as of mid-February – are required to present themselves for testing

South Africa has 72 ports of entry via land, sea and air

• There are 53 land ports, 35 of them shut down as of Monday
• Two out of 8 seaports closed for passengers
• Non-essential travel prohibited
• Non-essential domestic travel to be stopped

GROUPS OF PEOPLE

• Limit contact between groups of people
• Gatherings of more than 100 are prohibited
• All mass celebrations during public holidays cancelled
• Organisers to put in place stringent measures for less-than-100-people events

SCHOOLS

• Schools will be closed from Wednesday,18 March 2020
• Schools will remain closed till after Easter

BUSINESS

• Mining, retail banking & farming to introduce measures for hygiene control
• Shopping Malls and Entertainment centres to bolster hygiene control

Citizens to change behaviour

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitisers for a minimum of 20 seconds
• Cover nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, cover with a tissue or flexed elbow
• Avoid anyone with flu-like symptoms
• Minimise physical contact
• Use the elbow greeting, no shaking hands

Early detection is the best protection.
If you have reason to believe you or a member of your family is at risk – with one or more symptoms – testing stations have been set up. Read more here:

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/coronavirus-testing-in-south-africa-how-it-works-where-to-go-and-what-it-costs-20200311

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/news/2020-03-08-south-africans-can-get-private-coronavirus-tests-from-monday/

 Keeping our Italtile family safe.All Italtile staff – both customer-facing people and those behind the scenes - have been rigorously briefed. Each and every one of us understands that personal hygiene and store hygiene are crucial to the safety and comfort of our extended Italtile family. We’ve upped the number of hand sanitiser stations in each store. These have been placed at entrances, bathrooms, coffee bars and dispatch areas. Watch out for signage or ask a sales person to direct you. We have also ensured that our bathrooms are stocked with disposable paper towels and antibacterial soap.

All our stores are being sprayed with a specialised disinfectant and we will continue to clean our stores daily. We will also continue to spray our stores when necessary. We believe that our precautions will minimise risk and keep staff and customers safe; but should circumstances require it, we will re-evaluate our Covid-19 safety activities. You have our assurance that we will keep you informed of our decisions: whether these be further specialist store cleaning and spraying, isolation protocols regarding staff or customers, or store closure.

Meantime, we’re open for business.

We will remain open for business until we’re told to close. Our stores are safe spaces and should you choose to continue shopping in our showrooms, you’ll be welcomed in true Italtile fashion (except we’ll extend an elbow, not a hand). However, should you feel more comfortable staying away, remember our online shopping platform is a doubly safe space and it’s open 24/7 for your convenience?

Best information stations.

Let’s ignore harmful rumours and gossip and arm ourselves with sensible, qualified advice. A good start is to join the South African Whatsapp info group. Save the number (060 012 3456), send a message and you will receive all relevant information in return.

Here are some other excellent and reliable sources for the latest news and views:

https://sacoronavirus.co.za

https://twitter.com/HealthZA

https://sacoronavirus.co.za/category/press-releases-and-notices/ 

Keep abreast of what’s happening internationally here:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Finally, may we extend to you the reassuring words our Italian brothers and sisters are saying to each other: andrà tutto bene (all will be well). We encourage you to share the phrase as a hashtag on social platforms. May all that we pass on to each other be knowledge, understanding and compassion in a time of uncertainty and fear. Let’s act, but let’s not overreact. Stay safe, Italstylers. Stay informed.

And continue to live mindfully and beautifully.