Sekhukhune municipality offices closed after 11 employees test positive for Covid-19

The Sekhukhune district municipality in Limpopo has temporarily closed down its offices after 11 employees tested positive for Covid-19, while 45 others wait for test results. The district will again be operational on Monday next week.

Offices that are affected are accounting offices, office of the executive mayor, office of the speaker and the chief whip and the office of the chief finance officer, among others.

Yesterday the municipality sent a circular to all its staff and associated employees and service providers informing them about the sudden closure.

The circular reads: “This circular serves to inform all staff members that due to the high number of Covid-19 positive cases in Beriki Offices and the high number of those who are on self-isolation the acting municipal manager has taken a decision to close the Bareki offices effectively from today (13/07/2020) up to the (17/07/2020).

“The offices will be reopened on Monday the 20th July 2020. It must be noted that this should not be viewed as a holiday, but all must work from home, and service delivery should not be disrupted, reads the circular in part.”

Municipal spokesperson, Moloko Moloto, said it was becoming difficult to work from the offices while many of their employees were in isolation or in quarantine. He said the majority of those sick from the deadly virus were officials working from the office. He said some of the services were expected to be rendered by officials working from the affected offices.

“We all know that coronavirus is not a joke. That is why we took a stand in order to give our health professionals fumigate the offices so that they are ready for habitation when we go back to work on Monday,” he said.

The closure of the Sekhukhune offices comes after five Limpopo police stations also closed down for decontamination after several police officers tested positive for Covid-19. Limpopo police released a statement yesterday announcing that two of the province’s police stations had been temporarily closed down yesterday.

“The police stations are Westenburg in the Capricorn district and Morebeng in the Mopani district. Temporary arrangements for the provision of policing services have been made as follows:

“Westenburg: Services will be rendered from the new Community Service Center situated within the station premises. The number to call is 079 890 6087. Morebeng: Services will be rendered from the Victim Empowerment Center situated in the police station premises. The number to call is 079 889 5288.

“The telephone lines at Westenburg and Morebeng police stations will not be accessible for the duration of the closure. Members of the community from the affected station precincts are advised to use 10111 for emergencies and the numbers that have been provided above for all other complaints. Morebeng Police Station will again be both fully operational on Wednesday 15 July 2020 and Westenburg Police Station on Thursday, 16 July 2020.”

The closing down of the police stations comes right on the foot of three other police stations – the Maake, Bolobedu and Seshego police stations in the Mopani district and the Capricorn districts – were closed down last week.

Machaba urged employees who present flue-like symptoms to stay at home until they recover and commended managers for responding to the report with speed.

Mojapelo said in Maake, services will be rendered from the Victim Empowerment Centre situated inside the yard of the current police station and that the number to call is 079 8907 752. In Bolobedu, a mobile Community Service Centre has been placed in front of the police station and the number to call is 079 8900 584.

In Seshego, Mojapelo said services will be rendered from the Victim Empowerment Centre situated in the police station premises and the temporary landline number is 015 223 9350 and the cellphone number 079 889 8731. He said the telephone lines at Maake, Bolobedu and Seshego police stations will not be accessible for the duration of the closure.

Members of the community from the affected station precincts are advised to use 10111 for emergencies and the numbers that have been provided above for all other complaints.

Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).