Table 3.
COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures practices by the community pharmacists
| Questions | Responses (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Very often | Always | |
| Cleaning of workspace with soap and water, and sanitizing same (e.g., counter-tops) | 0 | 1.3 | 10.8 | 28.3 | 59.6 |
| Cleaning of floors with soap and water | 0 | 0 | 1.7 | 19.6 | 78.8 |
| Provision of waiting area for customers outside the pharmacy | 7.1 | 10.4 | 15.0 | 16.7 | 50.8 |
| Floor signs for patients within the pharmacy for social distancing | 15.4 | 14.2 | 22.5 | 12.1 | 35.8 |
| Sanitizing of commonly used handheld tools (e.g., phones, point-of-care testing tools) | 0.8 | 4.2 | 17.5 | 25.4 | 52.1 |
| Availability of hand sanitizers for staff use | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 10 | 87.1 |
| Use of face masks and/face shields | 0 | 1.7 | 8.3 | 19.6 | 70.4 |
| Staff washing of hands with soap and water | 0.4 | 2.1 | 4.6 | 25.8 | 67.1 |
| Intentional reduction of the number of workers per day or working in fixed shifts | 11.7 | 8.8 | 14.6 | 20.4 | 44.6 |
| Granting work leave to vulnerable staff (e.g., aged, chronic conditions, acute conditions) | 12.5 | 12.9 | 17.5 | 15.0 | 42.1 |
| Taking precautions while handling or dispensing prescriptions | 0 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 14.6 | 82.1 |
| Limiting the number of customers inside the pharmacy at every point in time | 1.7 | 2.1 | 12.1 | 23.8 | 60.4 |
| Define a specific area for customers having suspected symptoms | 16 | 36 | 56 | 55 | 77 |
| Use of contactless payment options (e.g., point-of-sale/card payment) | 1.3 | 1.3 | 21.3 | 38.8 | 37.5 |
| Ensuring that patients use their face masks before entry and while in the pharmacy | 0.8 | 2.1 | 14.6 | 27.5 | 55.0 |
| Provision of water and soap at the entrance of the pharmacy for client’s/patient’s use | 6.3 | 7.5 | 12.5 | 14.6 | 59.2 |
| Provision of alcohol-based hand sanitizers for customers before entry | 1.7 | 2.5 | 10.0 | 16.3 | 69.6 |
| Provision of signage/banner at the pharmacy entrance displaying information on COVID-19 | 7.9 | 10.8 | 15.8 | 17.1 | 48.3 |
| Carrying out a triage/COVID-19 risk evaluation on clients/patients | 10.8 | 13.8 | 29.2 | 23.8 | 22.5 |
| Installment of counter-top, transparent plastic barrier screens in the Pharmacy | 43.8 | 20.4 | 12.5 | 7.9 | 15.4 |
| Allowing pick-up of medications (refills) on request by patients | 5.0 | 6.7 | 21.7 | 25.8 | 40.8 |