A report that a COVID positive person had visited Narrabri BP service station at Cooma Road last week prompted an immediate deep clean of the premises and testing of all personnel employed on shift at the service station plus associated family members.

“And all tests were returned negative,” Narrabri BP owners Amber and Daniel Keeffe confirmed.

“As soon as we were advised about the alleged COVID positive person, we initiated the correct procedures to ensure that everything was absolutely clean.”

But the brief, 24 second visit by the allegedly infected person had an immediate impact on the volume of customers at the service station.

Business was dramatically affected as the report created widespread concerns about the presence of COVID in Narrabri.

The sole report of a COVID infected person at Narrabri prompted an extension of the lockdown in the shire.

The BP service station is now recovering from the COVID incident.

“We are completely cleaned and clear and customers can come through absolutely without any concerns,” Amber and Daniel assure the community.

“The BP Roadhouse operators Amber and Daniel are victims in this scenario through no fault of their own,” Narrabri Police Inspector Robert Dunn told The Courier on Tuesday.

“Police are investigating the movements of the person in question following their COVID test to ascertain if there has been any breach of the Public Health Orders,” Inspector Dunn said.

The incident has left the couple distressed.

“On Thursday afternoon we were contacted by NSW Health and told that an allegedly COVID positive person had come into the service station at a certain time and bought an item, and they asked us to check our closed circuit television monitor,” Amber and Daniel said.

“We checked the CCTV footage and nothing matched the information they provided.

“But we still immediately shut down the service station, undertook a thorough deep clean and isolated staff for testing, even though it was not confirmed that the particular person had been on our site at that stage.

“Contact was made by Narrabri Police conducting the investigation.

“We then continued a search of CCTV footage from other days and times searching for a person who matched the description we had been given.

“Then when we found someone of a similar description we contacted local police to confirm that the person had indeed visited the service station.

“But the CCTV footage didn’t match the time and date or the product purchased that we had been notified.”

Police attended and checked the footage and conducted an investigation and confirmed that the vehicle in the drive through was the one involved.

“The person in question was the last customer in the store that night, the Tuesday night, and was inside for 24 seconds.

“The customer made a ‘pay wave’ transaction – nothing was touched in the store.

“We emphasise that as soon as we heard that a suspected COVID positive person had visited we cleaned and had tested and isolated staff and family members. The testing returned negative results.

“And we are scrupulous about hygiene. Our COVID safety procedures have proved to be effective and what we have in place is working.

“Prior to this incident we had already ramped up our cleaning schedule and had employed a cleaner on a daily basis,” the couple said.

“This has had a very negative impact on our business since the information was released.

“Prior to this we had been managing to trade reasonably well despite the ongoing COVID restrictions in place. We are at a loss as to why ours was the only business nominated as being visited by the allegedly COVID positive person.

“Where else had they been in the past days?”

Community support evident in these tough times

The fall out from a reported visit to the BP Narrabri service station by an alleged COVID infected person last week has left the service station proprietors Amber and Daniel Keeffe devastated.

The Narrabri couple run a Cooma Road business which like so many in the community is battling a sustained downturn in trade.

Amber and Daniel bought the business in 2018 and have worked hard, and successfully, to build it up.

They have been delivered an unwarranted blow.

The couple has been disappointed at social media commentary around the incident – of which they are the innocent victims.

That has added insult to injury. The injury is not only great personal distress but a major impact on their business.

As anyone in business knows, these are extraordinarily trying times.

These are the times for the community to offer mutual support and concern in a very tough environment.

“Despite some social media commentary, we have been so heartened by the support of the community, so many business people and customers have contacted us to support us,” the Keeffes said.

“We just want to say ‘thank you’ to those who have been so supportive.

“This has been very upsetting but we are determined to recover and continue to provide the services we offer to our community.”

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