Durban: Nongoma Municipality employees in the north of KwaZulu-Natal are expected to report back to work today following a sudden closure last week after one of their staff tested positive for Covid-19.
The municipality announced its temporary closure, with immediate effect, on Thursday which it said would allow the disaster management team to conduct necessary fumigation.
This left the municipality with only essential services employees, who were “to ensure that operations are not hampered”.
Nongoma mayor Albert Mncwango said they were still in shock.
“When the employees return today, we will do a mass testing for Covid-19. And we will also initiate a rotation plan to reduce the number of staff who come to work on a daily basis,” Mncwango said.
The rotation plan, he said, would enable their offices to be filled at 50% capacity, which will include managers, junior and senior staff members.
“Employees will be in the office for one week and then work from home the following week, to allow space for the other team to be in the office,” he explained.
He added that all employees above the age of 60 and those who had comorbidities would be excluded from the list of those who were to come to the office.
“All essential services employees will be in the office, with an exception of the over 60s and those with comorbidities,” he said.
Mncwango added that most of their council meetings were already virtual.
Mncwango urged people to heed health protocols, by wearing masks, washing hands with soap and water and to practise social distancing.
“People must go and vaccinate. It is the only way that they can be safe. I have also been vaccinated, so people must ignore the misconceptions that are doing the rounds about the vaccines,” he said
He raised concerns about the prevalence of the Delta variant of Covid-19 in the area.
“Nongoma has lost five people in two weeks, due to the Delta variant of Covid-19. These include a seven-year old,” the mayor said.
However the province’s health department could not confirm the Delta cases.
Spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said: "As a province, we don't confirm Covid cases, as this stigmatises people and areas, while giving others a false sense of hope that they're ’safe’.“
Maphisa said that they had used this approach during the first and second waves, and it had worked well.
The Daily News