Cape Town - Nurses at Dr Ivan Toms Clinic in Mfuleni were dissatisfied returning to work on Monday morning after a staff member was tested positive for the coronavirus, Covid-19.
City of Cape Town spokesperson, Priya Reddy confirmed that a staff member at Mfuleni clinic tested positive, but said that the facility was deep cleansed on Sunday, May 3, as per the health and safety protocols.
“The majority of the staff complement claimed to have been in close contact with this staff member and have been tested and sent home for quarantine until the results become available. Two doctors did not test as they had not had close contact with the case.
“They have continued to work, together with two cleaners who had low exposure. City Health is in the process of acquiring stand-in staff to provide services at the facility until further notice. The City’s protocol dictates that staff members should return to work as soon it is safe to do so,” Reddy said.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) organiser, Xolani Diniso arrived to address the anxious group of nurses in the parking lot of the clinic after receiving a call from one of the staff members “reporting about what is happening here”.
“We’ve got videos and audios of your designated manager, where he was forcing and instructing you to go and work inside as if nothing happened,” Diniso said.
“There is no one, irrespective of the position he or she occupies, that can force workers to work in a dangerous area or that can force workers to work under such conditions... We understand that there are a lot of directives coming left right and centre, [and] all those directives are contradicting each other.
"The only directive that we need to comply with is the directives coming from the president, or the National Institute for Communicable Diseases or the Department of Labour, those directives are what we need to comply with on a daily basis," Diniso said.
Nurses at the Dr Ivan Toms Clinic in Mfuleni were not happy returning to work after a staff member was tested positive for the coronavirus, Covid-19. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency(ANA)
“Also, there was not even proof that was shown to you that deep cleaning took place yesterday [on Sunday]. There was no tangible proof to prove that. There’s also no proof that this place was decontaminated.”
“When we had a meeting with them, we put our position clear. It is wrong to say that those that needed to be taken seriously are those that were working in the same session with the person that was found positive.
"Clerks are not only stationed or working at a reception, they move around. So it can't be correct that those who need to be tested and taken for quarantine are those that work in the clinical department.”
Reddy said management engaged staff at the facility about the best course of action to be taken as many deemed themselves to have been in close contact with the Covid-19 positive staff member. Once results become available each staff member will be informed and managed accordingly.
“I want to reiterate that all City employees who test positive for Covid-19 are advised on appropriate treatment and isolation measures. This applies across the board, to all affected staff.
“Normally close contacts are only offered testing if they have symptoms, otherwise they are requested to remain in self-quarantine at home for a period of 14 days from the time of exposure,” Reddy said.
“However, the protocol for the Health Department differs, in that close contacts are tested and if negative, the staff can return to work. This approach has also been used for other essential workers.”
Nurses at the Dr Ivan Toms Clinic in Mfuleni were not happy returning to work a day after a staff member was tested positive for the coronavirus, Covid-19. Video: Phando Jikelo
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