Sello Motseta
17th May 2020
The Ministry of Health and Wellness today revealed to the media it will continue offering all its health services during phase 3 of the lockdown through public and private facilities, pharmacies, laboratories, child welfare clinics, maternal wards and dispensing medication for anti-retroviral drugs, non-communicable diseases, diabetes and hypertension.
It will however continue to restrict patients to 1 person at a time and will postphone the resumption of dental services and elective surgeries. Organizations are encouraged to employ health and safety officers with entities with 50 or more employees obliged to employ a SHE officer.”
Baile Moagi, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, said ”Botswana is still experiencing sporadic cases of people with Covid-19, the last case having been recorded on 30th March 2020. This brought our cases of which 15 are imported, 10 locally transmitted and 17 people isolated at Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital have since recovered.”
She said, “Applications for licensing of health professionals are now done online and the inspection of institutions for compliance to the requirements of the Public Health Act continues.”
Health officials were sharing developments alongside officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Development who announced during phase 2 that infrastructure projects would resume but would be preceded by requisite preparations for COVID-19 by ensuring site is clean, employees wash hands regularly and there are hand washing facilities at the entrance of the site.
The contractor is also expected to have a register that registers all employees daily with full names of employees, identity numbers, place of residence, temperature, arrival and departure times.
Bareng Malatsi Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Development, said “The contractor must ensure that everybody ears a face mask that covers mouth and nose at all times. “
He said, “The contractor must comply with the social distance as stated in the COVID-19 protocols during construction work. Workers may bring packed lunch on site or may prepare food on site as long as they observe social distancing, especially when eating.”
Contractors are expected to ensure tools are sanitized daily especially wheelbarrows, spirit levels, trowel, spade, pick, claw hammer, concrete mixer, measuring tape, mallet, chisel, fish line, compactor, electric tester, screw driver, hemp, step ladder, dicing machine, tile cutter and scrapper.
