Photo: File
As the majority of us prepare for a three-week lockdown, there are many employees – including those in the essential services – who will carry on as normal.
Photo: File
As of 23:59 on Thursday, South Africa will go into a full “lockdown”. Although some essential services and industries remain open for business, the vast majority of South Africans are being told to stay at home for a period of three weeks. Thursday 16 April is scheduled to be the last day of these measures.
To keep the country running, we need some brave, and very dedicated men and women. The employees of our essential services will be asked to keep the wheels turning during one of our darkest hours, as coronavirus cases continue to pile-up nationwide. When we go into lockdown, the following industries will require their workers to keep coming in:
Thousands of businesses have rushed to get themselves used to this “new normal”, even if it is only temporary. Those who can carry on have made arrangements like allowing workers to function remotely from home, and directing all meetings into online channels. However, exemptions are also in place for companies who need to keep their vital infrastructure well-maintained:
“Elsehwere, companies whose operations require continuous processes such as furnaces, underground mine operations will be required to make arrangements for care and maintenance to avoid damage to their continuous operations.”
“This is a decisive measure to save millions of South Africans from infection and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. While this measure will have a considerable impact on people’s livelihoods, on the life of our society and on our economy, the human cost of delaying this action would be far, far greater.”
This nationwide lockdown, the President said, will be accompanied by a public health management programme which will significantly increase screening, testing, contact tracing and medical management.
As the country ramps up its response to the virus, community health teams will focus on expanding screening and testing where people live, focusing first on high density and high-risk areas.