Joining the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Rubis Guyana Inc is providing transportation for frontline workers and has also contributed more than $2M as part of its several initiatives aimed at providing relief to persons in need and to ongoing efforts of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) .
A monetary donation of $700,000 was made to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), while the CDC received just over $1.3M.
This is according to a press release from the energy company which also said that it has provided support to families who are experiencing challenges as a result of the national emergency measures which were instituted due to the pandemic.
Describing its approach to the country’s national COVID-19 response as an “all-hands-on-deck” one, Joylyn Johnson, Retail Account Executive of the gas station chain according to the release explained that the fight against the disease must be a collective effort, while noting that team Rubis wanted to be part of Guyana’s proactive measures.
Explaining the reason behind the donation to the GPHC, Johnson said it was borne out of disturbing media reports that their frontline medical workers, “who are battling to restore the health of COVID-19 patients,” were having serious challenges travelling to and from home.
“We wished to enable them an easy passage on their journey…We felt compelled to make a contribution to GPHC towards providing dedicated and safe transportation for these special health care professionals,” the release quoted as Johnson as saying; while adding that the money donated will provide dedicated vehicles and drivers to transport medical personnel.
According to the release, the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier George Lewis (rtd) expressed gratitude to Rubis on behalf of their board, management and staff for honouring its corporate social responsibility by supporting health care workers during what he described as “unprecedented times.”
The release quoted him as saying, “in light of the national regulations that have been put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, the GPHC is exceptionally grateful for this donation, which will support the provision of transportation for our staff who work beyond the hours of the national curfew.”
The gas station chain said that it has also donated food hampers to the CDC to assist its drive in ensuring that the most vulnerable citizens are taken care of.
Rubis said that aware the CDC is facing a mammoth task—since an exercise of this nature requires many resources, it agreed to come on board.
Meanwhile, highlighting measures taken internally to safeguard staff and customers, Rubis said that it has invested in safety-training for retailers and their staff on heightened cleaning standards to be adopt at this time, while all its service stations are currently outfitted with sinks and hand santisers.
It said, too, that face masks were recently purchased for all gas attendants in a bid to mitigate the spread of the virus while COVID-19 signage was installed at the fuel pumps to remind customers of safe practices.
