{"id":239870,"date":"2020-03-19T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/239870\/mayor-details-containment-and-mitigation-measures-to-decrease-spread-of-covid-19-in-ekurhuleni\/"},"modified":"2020-03-19T14:07:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T12:07:00","slug":"mayor-details-containment-and-mitigation-measures-to-decrease-spread-of-covid-19-in-ekurhuleni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2020\/03\/19\/mayor-details-containment-and-mitigation-measures-to-decrease-spread-of-covid-19-in-ekurhuleni\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor details containment and mitigation measures to decrease spread of Covid-19 in Ekurhuleni"},"content":{"rendered":"

The executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mzwandile Masina, has outlined a list of containment and mitigation measures to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes on the back of President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s declaration of a national state of disaster on Sunday, March 15.<\/p>

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Following extensive consultation with the metro\u2019s senior managers and in line with the best practices outlined by the National Department of Health and the World Health Organisation, the City of Ekurhuleni has decided to implement the following measures:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Covid-19 joint operations centre:<\/strong><\/p>

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The metro has activated a joint operations centre (JOC) to coordinate the metro\u2019s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n

The JOC is composed of senior officials from all the metro\u2019s departments and will be convened every Tuesday and Thursday.<\/p>\n

The JOC will provide the office of the executive mayor with daily situational reports on developments relating to the Covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n

The JOC will meet with various city stakeholders, (Acsa, Eskom, Erwat, faith-based organisations, traditional leaders, taxi associations, IziNduna at the hostels and various chambers and business forums, to name a few) regularly to receive input and provide updates on developments surrounding the outbreak.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Workplace management:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The metro believes the health and safety of its employees remains a top priority.<\/p>\n

To this effect it is rolling out the following measures:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 The metro will be allocating hand-sanitising stations at all entrances of government buildings and will be enforcing hygiene protocols to all individuals entering and exiting the buildings.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The metro will be introducing scheduled sanitation of commonly used objects across the metro. This includes telephones, door handles, taps and desks, among others.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The metro is investigating the introduction of staggered reporting times across the depots in order to minimise the number of people gathered at these venues.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The metro is setting up a dedicated hotline for employees who have any questions regarding Covid-19 and possible symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The metro is considering the introduction of a work-from-home protocol for high-risk staff members and will make an announcement to this effect soon.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The human resources department will publish leave management guidelines for the current national state of disaster.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A moratorium on all official staff travel, domestic and international, has been enforced until further notice.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Social distancing:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The metro recognises that, globally, social distancing has emerged as one of the most effective methods of slowing down the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, the metro has decided to enforce the closure of the following government-owned facilities:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Community halls<\/p>\n

\u2022 Civic centres<\/p>\n

\u2022 Stadiums and sports fields<\/p>\n

\u2022 Lakes<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public swimming pools<\/p>\n

\u2022 Innovation and business labs<\/p>\n

\u2022 Nature reserves<\/p>\n

These facilities will be closed until further notice.<\/p>\n

The metro will communicate any changes to the status of these facilities when the need arises.<\/p>\n

All prior bookings and events that were scheduled to take place at these venues have been cancelled until further notice.<\/p>\n

All upcoming metro events have been postponed until further notice.<\/p>\n

The metro is investigating an innovative solution to conduct public participation through digital platforms, to avoid public gatherings.<\/p>\n

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ALSO READ:<\/span><\/p>\n

Rest-a-While take steps to protect the elderly<\/a><\/p>\n

Netcare warns public to be vigilant as would-be criminals take advantage of Covid-19<\/a><\/p>\n

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Public cemeteries will remain open throughout the state of disaster.<\/p>\n

Families are advised to keep funeral attendance to under 100 people and exercise punctuality during their service, to avoid contact with other funeral parties.<\/p>\n

Public libraries will not be allowed to host more than 100 people at a time.<\/p>\n

All visitors to the metro\u2019s libraries will be required to be seated a minimum of 1.5m apart.<\/p>\n

The metro is considering shortening the operating hours of libraries.<\/p>\n

Restaurants and taverns are advised not to exceed the limit of 100 patrons within their facility.<\/p>\n

The metro also calls upon these establishments to introduce strict hygiene protocols for their staff and customers.<\/p>\n

The metro urges all shopping centres and malls to monitor the number of customers entering their facilities and to encourage retailers to introduce measures to mitigate panic buying by customers.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Communications and public education:<\/strong><\/p>\n

To empower the residents of Ekurhuleni with knowledge surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic is an effective method of allaying fears and reducing the harmful impact of misinformation.<\/p>\n

The metro will introduce the following measures:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 The metro will be rolling out a mass public awareness campaign regarding the Covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Intensive education workshops will be provided to high-risk individuals in the metro by health and safety officials.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Daily situation updates will be sent to metro residents via SMS and digital media platforms.<\/p>\n

\u2022 An internal communications campaign will be rolled out to educate metro employees about Covid-19 and provide regular updates of decisions taken by the metro which may affect them.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Safety and security:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The metro is cognisant that criminal elements will see the Covid-19 outbreak as an opportunity to capitalise on the fear and anxiety of citizens.<\/p>\n

It will be adopting a proactive approach to this and will be enforcing the following measures:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Increased visible policing will be implemented throughout the metro.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Metro personnel will be assigned to monitor and fact-check fake news containing information regarding the metro. Misinformation alerts will be communicated to the public through the metro\u2019s digital media platforms.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A zero-tolerance approach will be taken against public disobedience and violent acts of xenophobia.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Health facilities:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to minimise the potential strain the Covid-19 pandemic might exert on public hospitals, the metro will be capacitating local clinics with the following interventions:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sanitisation stations are currently set up at the entrance of all the metro\u2019s clinics.<\/p>\n

\u2022 All clinics will allocate isolation rooms for patients who display symptoms of the Covid-19 virus, where they will be tested and quarantined before being sent to a hospital.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Further training of clinical staff will continue in order to ensure they are suitably prepared to deal with potential Covid-19 cases.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ports of entry:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The City of Ekurhuleni is home to the continent\u2019s busiest airport, OR Tambo International.<\/p>\n

This means the metro must take an active interest in the screening, tracing and reporting of contact individuals at this port to safeguard the wellness of residents.<\/p>\n

To this effect the metro has introduced the following measures:<\/p>\n

\u2022 The metro has deployed health and safety officials to OR Tambo International Airport and Rand Airport to assess the effectiveness of the screening of entrants into the metro and monitor the enforcement of hygiene protocols throughout the facilities.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Additional metro health and safety officers will be stationed at both airports to support Covid-19 containment measures.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Account payments:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The metro encourages account holders to utilise the Siyakhokha online system.<\/p>\n

Siyakhokha offers residents and businesses the convenience of online services while promoting social distancing.<\/p>\n

The Siyakhokha portal allows account holders to conduct the following services:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Link your municipal accounts.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Add your banking details.<\/p>\n

\u2022 View your municipal statements.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Make payment for your municipal account (once-off payment\/recurring debit order\/master pass).<\/p>\n

\u2022 View payment history\/status.<\/p>\n

\u2022 View consumption (water\/electricity).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Log complaints\/compliments.<\/p>\n

The metro is aware that the following measures will inconvenience a large number of its residents.<\/p>\n

The drastic measures being undertaken by the metro are in the interest of protecting Ekurhuleni\u2019s citizens and drastically slowing down the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we continue to learn more about Covid-19, we are asking the citizens of the City of Ekurhuleni to come together and play their part in curbing this pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is not the time to panic, but we must rather empower ourselves with knowledge and follow best practices for reducing the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City will continue to do everything within our power to keep you safe,\u201d said Masina.<\/p>\n

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* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear reader,<\/p>\n

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As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as \u201cfake news\u201d) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.<\/p>\n

Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za<\/a>) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Hav<\/strong>e a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor)\u00a0<\/span>germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za,<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>Leigh Hodgson (News Editor)\u00a0<\/span>leighh@caxton.co.za\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>or Busi Vilakazi (Journalist)\u00a0busiv@caxton.co.za.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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