(google images/ Brian Harper)

By Nicole Reis

getting through an outbreak

Reflecting on the Beauval General Store COVID-19 experience

Jun 11, 2020 | 7:34 AM

It has been over a week since the COVID-19 outbreak in a northern Saskatchewan community was officially ended.

Now, a staff member at the Beauval General Store is reflecting on overcoming the disease and the closure of his business.

Don Tegenkamp, general manager of vital retail outlet in Beauval told meadowlakeNOW he likely contracted the virus by coming into contact with a contaminated surface. He is now in good health and said his experience was one to remember.

“Before I tested positive, I had a leg injury and started feeling really tough,” he said. “I went to the clinic and nurses checked my temperature and chest then directed me to call 811,” he said. “I went back to the clinic again and they tested me right there on a Sunday, and by Monday morning the results were in that I had tested positive [for COVID-19].”

The 68-year-old man lives with diabetes, a mild heart condition and successfully recovered from the virus. He said the experience was concerning at first because he falls into a high-risk category.

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Tegenkamp describes his experience as a ‘bad flu’ and after five days of isolation, he was feeling reenergized enough to walk and go out into the bush with his side-by-side.

The day the outbreak occurred – May 1 – , the store closed immediately and went through a thorough sanitization process. The 7,500 sq. foot grocery store was forced to discard wrapped breads, produce and dairy products as a precaution. Fresh meats were frozen in the store’s freezer but later sold at a discount. Tegenkamp estimates nearly $4,500 in total losses from the incident.

The store reopened May 4 after thoroughly washing floors, cases and shelves with a soap and bleach solution. The store now operates with limits of six customers at one time and precautionary measures to include floor directives and Plexiglas shields, masks, gloves and hand sanitizer at entrances and with cashiers. The store is also supplying masks as a requirement for entry.

Tegenkamp continues to press the importance of thorough and consistent hand washing after his and his family’s experience. He praises the staff at Northern Health of La Ronge for their dependable care.

(Submitted photo/ Hilary MacDonald)

The deep clean

Hilary MacDonald, Environmental Health Officer with Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) Health Program conducted a range of tests and inspections at the facility and ensured the store was safe for reopening.

Her role is to act as a public health inspector with MLTC and perform duties related to safe food and water handling, housing complaints, infection prevention and control and communicable diseases .

“We looked a lot into the chemical they were using and it was quite food-safe so, anything that was in containers, boxes or bags, they were okay,” she said. “It was recommended when the public got their groceries home, to make sure they just give [food] a wash before eating.”

MacDonald worked closely with the store’s staff and head office in Saskatoon and was impressed by their willingness to determine a plan of action. She describes her investigation as unusual since the virus was new to everyone.

“They wanted to get opened back up for the people of the North and that was during the time when the public health order indicated people were to travel to their nearest grocery store,” she said. “That was the closest and it was taken out of play for a few days.”

According to MacDonald, a company out of Saskatoon performed a fogging disinfection by spraying all surfaces of the entire store. She continued with consecutive inspections to ensure a safe reopening.

“They had great measures in place – the store had security guards at the entrance with limits to people in at a time, shoppers were required to wear a mask and the store also provided one,” she said. “Everyone was wearing a mask, it was really good.”

She inspected the grocery store, gas and convenience store, the bakery and the fast food take-out restaurant. The store’s other restaurant had been closed for weeks prior to the store’s outbreak.

In what seemed like a typical work project, MacDonald can now apply this experience more efficiently in future inspections to ensure other stores reopen safely.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter:@nicolereis7722