Ansa Bank closed its Port of Spain branch from May 19 to 21 out of respect for two of its employees who recently died from covid19.

According to the Ansa McAl's group communications manager Sharon Balroop, a supervisor and a cashier at the bank’s Independence Square branch died “within the last week” and the closure also allowed for the branch to be sanitised.

Ansa Bank, a subsidiary of Ansa Merchant Bank, only opened its doors to the public on April 21 after its acquistiion of the Bank of Baroda.

Balroop said the bank has protocols in place for a staff member contracting covid19. They include contact tracing through interviews and a review of camera footage, thorough sanitisation of the branch, the isolation of primary contacts for 14 days with PCR testing on the 12th day, and assessment by a medical doctor before they could return to work.

In addition to following the protocols, all the staff were tested by a certified lab which revealed two security guards from a private security firm had the virus. Although testing negative, the other five primary contacts of the second case would remain in quarantine for 14 days as stated by the company policy.

Balroop said several preventative measures were put in place, including asking people to stay at home if they had covid19 symptoms. The company did not penalise employees who were absent from work because of following the safety protocols but breaching safety protocols would result in disciplinary action.

Everyone who entered the bank had to undergo hand sanitisation, mask-wearing and temperature-checks. And continuous briefings and reminders to staff about the importance of following protocols were issued.

At the Independence Square branch, only one person was allowed to dine in the lunchroom at a time while others were permitted to eat at their workstations. Each workstation was surrounded by a protective screen and employees interacted with customers from behind the screens.

“The safety and well-being of our employees are crucial to our business. We are a family, and looking out for each member is paramount, especially during these times. We are doing all that we can to minimise the risks.

“We have engaged a leading Occupational Health Consultant under whose remit there are: ongoing reviews of protocols, assessment of our Return to Work (RTW) policy which categorises our employees by their coronavirus risk factors, ensures that at-risk employees have the proper fit to work before returning, and that their working environment is managed.”