Staff Reporter

....as COVID-19 cases continue to rise

The Zimbabwean government yesterday announced that it was reducing the number of workers present at the office from 40 to 10 percent to slow the spread of COVID-19 as cases continue to surge.

A Circular dated 19 July 2021 from the Secretary of the Public Service Commission, Jonathan Wutawunashe to Heads of Government Ministries, announced the new measure regarding the containment of COVID-19 in the workplace, highlighting that only the Ministry of Health and Child Care and designated critical services are accepted.

Ambassador Wutawunashe emphasised that line Ministries should rotate staff in a manner that no employee should remain at home for more than 21 days at a stretch and those working from home should be capacitated with ICT equipment.

“Heads of Ministries should continue to ensure that staff members working from home are capacitated with ICT equipment and adequate internet facilities for them to work efficiently and productively. Those coming to workplaces must also be well supported with efficient and sufficient bandwidth to facilitate the holding of virtual meetings and other e-enabled communication.

“There shall be strict monitoring and enforcement of staff attendance at workplaces. Daily staff attendance records should continue to be submitted to the PSC before 1300 hours and any variation should be accompanied by a clear justification,” reads part of the Circular.

Ambassador Wutawunashe directed all Heads of Ministries to ensure that all Civil Servants under their jurisdiction are vaccinated.

The PSC said it shall ensure that buses were fumigated daily after each trip and that only members with proof of vaccination against COVID-19 shall board PSC buses whose carrying capacity shall be 35 passengers at maximum.

Meanwhile, as at 18 July 2021, Zimbabwe had 83619 confirmed cases including 53453 recoveries and 2622 deaths. To date, a total of 1 144 379 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19.