Post-Lockdown: General Exclusions

Written on 04/24/2020
MJ Minter Inc


Post the national lockdown, there will be a few restrictions that will stay in place regardless of the level of alert in any given period: 

  • Sit-in restaurants and hotels 
  • Bars and shebeens 
  • Conference and convention centres 
  • Entertainment venues, including cinemas, theatres, and concerts 
  • Sporting events 
  • Religious, cultural and social gatherings 
  • No gatherings of more than 10 people outside of a workplace will be permitted 
  • Passengers on all modes of transport must wear a cloth mask to be allowed entry into the vehicle. Hand sanitisers must be made available, and all passengers must sanitise their hands before entering. Public transport vehicles must be sanitised on a daily basis. 

The following rules will be imposed across all sectors and alert levels: 

  • Industries are encouraged to adopt a work-from-home strategy where possible, and all staff who can work remotely must be allowed to do so. 
  • Workers above the age of 60, as well as workers with comorbidities identified by the Department of Health should be offered a work-from-home option or allowed to remain on leave with full pay. 
  • There should be workplace protocols in place that would include disease surveillance and prevention of the spread of infection. 
  • All employers to screen staff on a daily basis for symptoms of COVID-19, including a symptom check as well as temperature assessment. 
  • All employees to use a cloth mask especially where social distancing is not possible. 
  • Work environment to have sanitisers available or hand washing facilities with soap. 
  • Stringent social distancing measures should be implemented in the workplace. 

Before any sector resumes activity, the following conditions must be in place: 

  • In addition to generally applicable health and safety protocols, each sector must agree upon a COVID-19 prevention and mitigation plan with the Minister of Employment and Labour, the Minister of Health and any other Minister relevant to the sector. 
  • Individual businesses or workplaces must have COVID-19 risk assessments and plans in place, and must conduct worker education on COVID-19 and protection measures: 
    • Identification and protection of vulnerable employees 
    • Safe transport of employees 
    • Screening of employees on entering the workplace 
    • Prevention of viral spread in the workplace
    • Cleaning of surfaces and shared equipment 
    • Good ventilation 
    • Managing sick employees 
  • Monitoring systems must be in place to (1) ensure compliance with safety protocols and (2) identify infections among employees 

If you have any confusion on what will be excluded post the national lockdown, please feel free to contact us. 

This article is based on an extract from a draft government document