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Has that Frontline Government Employee Taken Precautions?

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Government departments urged to take precaution

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has called on government departments to ensure that all necessary precautions are taken to prevent the spread of Coronavirus among public servants and citizens at frontline service delivery points.

Public Service and Administration Director-General Yoliswa Makhasi has issued Circular No 07 of 2020, outlining the guidelines for the containment and management of COVID-19 in the Public Service. This is in line with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA, 1993), Regulation 53.

“DPSA urges departments to ensure, among others, that all health and safety precautions — in line with the protocols issued by the National Department of Health (NDoH) and World Health Organisation (WHO) — are followed by all public officials, and that awareness programmes are conducted regularly in order to remain healthy, and to manage any exposure to COVID-19 within their workspaces,” the DPSA said in a statement.

The department further called on government departments that provide frontline services, which require officials to have direct contact with members of the public, to develop internal protocols and communication strategies to manage the interactions to ensure continuation of service delivery.

In addition, the DPSA urges all departments to ensure that there is equipment for temperature screening of employees on a daily basis, sufficient disinfectants, hand sanitisers, soap and tissue, and that quarantine rooms are created to respond to cases detected in the workplace.

The following precautionary measures for frontline officials should be implemented:

  • Provide frontline employees with the necessary protective equipment, such as latex gloves, to handle documents and assist citizens.
  • Provide frontline employees with sufficient training to assist them to identify the risks and mitigate them sufficiently.
  • Ensure the workspaces of frontline employees have sufficient facilities for them to wash their hands.
  • Ensure the cleaning of hard surfaces e.g. workstations, countertops, and doorknobs on an hourly basis. The cleaning of the surfaces must be recorded on a two-hourly basis
  • Ensure frontline employees are conversant with the protocols pertaining to COVID-19 in order to respond timeously to identify risks.
  • Prevention of close or physical contact in the workplace, such as shaking hands.

In order to mitigate transmission and spread of the virus at service points and to ensure citizens are served in a safe and secure service delivery environment, departments should:

  • Ensure cleaning of the waiting area for members of the public on a two-hourly basis.
  • Provision of hand sanitisers at strategic places for members of the public. Ensure the numbers of members of the public allowed in the venue is consistent with the protocols and guidelines of the department and management of crowds in waiting areas or/and queues.
  • Installation of scanners and ensure each and every member of the public is checked before entering the facility
  • Guide and direct members of the public displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19 to a medical professional.
  • Avail awareness material on COVID-19 to members of the public.
  • Ensure posters on COVID-19 are placed in strategic locations, where members of the public can be informed.

In instances where some services can be deferred or re-directed to better manage gatherings, departments are advised to classify their services in terms of direct, indirect, back-end and transversal, and inform citizens of which key services they will make available during this period.

Where online services are provided, people are encouraged to use these services to lessen physical interaction.

Public employees are also advised to report any suspected case of exposure or positive test to the dedicated email address: COVID-19@dpsa.gov.za.

The DPSA also calls for calm and cooperation from Public Service employees during this period. – SAnews.gov.za

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.