Media Statement by North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha on the Occupational Health and Safety Report of the Provincial Health Offices and the Latest Update on COVID-19 in the Province
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, good day to all of you.
I have called you here today first to appraise you on the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) status of the Department of Health Provincial Offices, how our offices have been affected by COVID-19 and the Department of Labour findings as well as progress on implementation of remedial actions. Secondly, to give you update on the latest COVID-19 statistics in the Province and our plans around Alert Level 1.
Background
Our approach to occupational health is guided by the Occupational Health and Safety Act no. 85 of 1993 which guides both the employers and employees to develop a safe and healthy work culture which is a culture in which the right to a safe and healthy working environment is respected at all levels, where government, employers and workers actively participate in securing a safe and healthy working environment through a system of defined rights, responsibilities and duties and where the principle of prevention is accorded the highest priority.
There has been disruptions of normal work operations in the Provincial Offices due to a number of complaints by our own employees who believed that the working environment is not safe. Our employees have complain about among others lack of social distancing/ congestion, lack of ventilation, non-compliant infrastructure and non-disclosure of COVID-19 cases in the workplace.
What the Department has done
The Department has ensured the appointment of the Provincial OHS steering committee, with different members of the SMS/Executive officers and the trade unions being members of that committee. This committee has so far been meeting on a monthly basis and 5 meetings have so far been held and compliance officers have been presenting to the committee at large.
Different measures have been put in place here in the Provincial Office Park to comply with the OHS Act. The committee has been established and appointed accordingly by the Head of the Department. Since the establishment of the committee, the following achievements have been attained:
- Induction of all committee members on OHSA
- Training on OHS
- Training of Fire Safety
- Training on First Aid
- Risk Assessment
- Inspection of all directorates
Furthermore, the Department in its bid to ensure maximum compliance to the COVID-19 regulations has ensured that training of members in the office is maximised and of the 606 employees, 407 have received training on COVID-19. Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material and newsletters have also been utilized to ensure maximum education and awareness among employees.
The Department has always availed attendance registers for both workers and visitors, this is in compliance to contact tracing measures. Daily screening of employees and all people accessing the building have been performed. Isolation room for symptomatic employees and visitors have also been identified at the Wellness Center.
Hand sanitizer stations have been placed on the main entrance and other identified areas. In addition employees have also individually received a 490mls sanitizer for personal use in the workplace.
A minimum of two (2) face cloth masks have been provided to all employees within the building. Surgical masks are provided daily to screeners and those employees encountering breathing problems whilst at work.
Employees who are on a daily basis in contact with large numbers of people have also been provided with visors (face-shield masks). Notices were written to employees for the vulnerable employees (those with co-morbidities) to work from home.
Deep cleaning has been conducted in the building. The service was rendered since the 11th August 2020 and continued over the weekend of the 18th to the 20th September 2020.
Management of COVID-19 Cases
Since the onset of COVID-19 in the country, the Provincial Head Office has recorded 28 COVID-19 cases, with the first case reported in July and the last case reported on the 16th September 2020. The Provincial Head Office has unfortunately recorded two deaths as a result of COVID-19.
In the first case an employee was working from home and had comorbidities, was hospitalized and unfortunately passed on. The second case was an employee who was pregnant and reportedly got exposed from home after the husband contracted COVID-19.
Contact tracing is done upon notification from supervisors or employees themselves and exposed employees are put on quarantine.
Following another reported positive COVID-19 case over the past week, the Department furthermore closed the building on Monday, 21 September 2020 for decontamination. In all the cases, decontamination of all affected areas have been done and a register kept.
Psychosocial support has also been made available to affected employees.
The OHS Committee conducted inspections on the 27th August 2020 to assess adherence to social distancing. The reports were provided to managers of different units which were deemed affected for implementation of the recommendations of the OHS committee.
Inspection by the Department of Labour
The Department of Labour conducted an inspection on the 25th May 2020 and the following notices were received:
- Ventilation at Pharmaceuticals – the partitioning was removed to allow more fresh air into the area. The air conditions were relocated and are now in good operating order. Air freshener was also provided by putting a grill on the floor leading to the stairs.
- Ventilation, Social Distancing and Ceiling at the Ratlou Section – the task was completed and the air conditionings are also in working order
- Ventilation and Ceiling at Quality Assurance – the air conditions are now working and the ceiling has been replaced
- Ventilation at Purchasing Unit, HRD and Internal Control – attended to, the air-con units now working
- Ventilation and social distancing at the Mahikeng Sub-District – attended to and all the air conditions are now working
The Department has attended to all the issues raised by the Department of Labour. All the gas leaks on the air conditioner systems have been attended to. The issue concerning the building structure of the Office Park is also being attended to. An engineer was appointed and assessment was provided by the Structural Engineer.
Improvement Measures on COVID-19 Case Management
The Provincial Office COVID-19 coordinating committee made up of representatives from each Directorate has been developed in order to improve the Provincial Office response to COVID-19 in the workplace. These representatives will be addressed as the Directorates contact persons for COVID-19.
A Team from Office of the Premier
The Premier has appointed a team of managers from his Office to come and assist the Department in dealing with the concerns of workers. I welcome this team. We will work together to address any other challenge there maybe.
Latest Update on COVID-19 Statistics in the Province
The COVID-19 statistics in South Africa as on the 21th September is as follows:
- Over 4 million tests conducted
- 661 936 tested positive
- Total recovered standing at 591 208
- Total deaths 15 992
In the North West Province, the situation is as follows:
- 28 181 total positive cases
- 24 101 recoveries (85.5%)
- 3 745 active cases
- 341 deaths
Out of the total number of active cases, 222 people are hospitalised, 15 are in ICU, 60 on oxygen, 9 on high care while 15 are on ventilation.
We are witnessing a positive development on the number of new daily cases which now ranges between 100 and 200 as compared to the winter months of June-July which recorded between 400 and 500 daily new cases. A total of 27 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hour reporting cycle.
Bojanala District is still leading with the total number of cases at 13 543 followed by Dr Kenneth Kaunda at 8339, Ngaka Modiri Molema at 4247 and lastly Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati remains the lowest at 2026.
Implications of Alert Level 1
The President has declared a move from Alert level 2 to 1. The move to Alert Level 1 has implications not only to the rest of the country but as a Province, we always anticipate and planned around any level of alert. So the Province is ready to deal with Alert level 1 and I believe we have the capacity and ability to contain the spread of COVID-19. While we are witnessing less new daily cases and increased number of recoveries, we need to be more vigilant under Level 1 to prevent cluster outbreak and a sudden surge of the coronavirus.
Our planning and leadership structures remains intact with the Provincial Command Center continuing to coordinate planning and the Provincial Command Council led by the Premier providing strategic direction.
We recently launched Tracer transport for mass screening, tracing and testing in partnership with the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management. The transport comes in handy to assist us to scale up mass screening, tracing and testing as the Province intensifies efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus and restrict new infections under alert level 1.
The guidelines for alert level 1 as detailed by the President will be implemented to the latter.
I thank you
