Well, things sure have escalated quickly. It was only a few weeks ago that things seemed relatively normal and now we find ourselves in a nationwide lockdown. We may not know how long the Alert Level 4 will last but Rapid Facility Services will be providing a COVID-19 essential service throughout the entire time.
As we all know, New Zealand is not the only country fighting hard to flatten the exponential curve of Covid-19 cases. This health emergency is being felt in varying degrees around the globe.
Our government saw an opportunity early enough to implement a lockdown, asking New Zealanders to stay home and shut the doors on non-essential services.
We are considered an essential service.
Our team will be working throughout Alert Level 4 to provide our food manufacturing clients with a much-needed in-depth cleaning service at a time when we need it most.
What does it mean to be a COVID-19 essential service?
Let’s look at what things are like for Rapid Facility Services right now.
Increasing cleaning and sanitising services to food manufacturers
Food safety cleaning has long been our speciality and, right now, our expert team is needed more than ever.
We know a lot about how to eradicate bacteria and viruses from food processing plants. Bacteria and viruses are invisible but very real dangers and, as we have seen with COVID-19, can wreak havoc on public health if left to get out of control.
In New Zealand, we make a lot of our own food. We’re lucky to have a good supply and food manufacturers are currently working extremely hard to keep up with consumer demand. The last thing we want is for COVID-19, or any other virus for that matter, to end up in our food.
That’s where Rapid Facility Services comes in.
We are vastly experienced in handling MPI approved chemicals.
These chemicals eliminate harmful pathogens, removing them from manufacturing equipment.
It is standard protocol for the Rapid team to clean every corner of your manufacturing plant. This includes all confined spaces, tubes, pipes, vents, walls, floors, ceilings and much more. We know how easy it is for bacteria and viruses to form and multiply, which is why we ensure the entire plant is thoroughly cleaned.
New standards in place as a COVID-19 essential service
With what we already know about COVID-19, self-protection and social distancing seem to be effective ways to keep the virus at bay.
We have always taken health and safety measures seriously.
In fact, we pride ourselves in doing so.
We have taken on the advice of experts and carry out food manufacturing cleaning in full PPE gear which includes overalls, gloves, masks and safety glasses.
Understanding the benefits of social distancing, our team are happy to work outside of your operational hours to keep away from your staff. We also always maintain the two-metre social distance as advised by the government.
Food supply must continue and we are here to help
When it first became a reality that we might have a period of lockdown, we saw New Zealanders flock to supermarkets to purchase everything in sight.
We’ve labelled this ‘panic buying’ but we can see how it happened as there was limited information about what would stay open if New Zealand was eventually put into lockdown.
Now that things have settled a bit, our food manufacturing clients are very busy trying to get back to a normal level of demand.
When our clients work harder, we work harder too.
The extra production means the Rapid team need to perform food safety cleans more often than usual.
We are happy to do our bit for the food processing industry in the time of COVID-19.
Being a COVID-19 essential service is hard work but it is inspiring to see how all essential services are handling the situation. In true Kiwi style, we’re all just getting the job done, even under these incredibly stressful circumstances.
We would like to extend our gratitude to other essential services around the country.
Doctors, nurses, supermarket staff, pharmacists and the many others providing New Zealanders with their necessities, we thank you.
We love our community and we do what we can to give back wherever possible. As we support our food manufacturing clients through this uncertain time, we know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We will all get through this together.
COVID-19 has caught the whole world by surprise but we’re not letting it stop us from delivering clean, hygienic food to New Zealanders.
Our expertise and experience have prepared us well for an event such as COVID-19 and we are proud to be a COVID-19 essential service.
We are ready to provide urgent support and essential cleaning to food manufacturers in the Auckland region. Call us today.
