Mines must heed health call amid Covid threat

Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has urged mineworkers to adhere to health regulations as 13 Limpopo mineworkers tested positive for Covid-19 at the weekend.

Mantashe was speaking during an urgent meeting among mining houses, the department of health and the premier of Limpopo, Stan Mathabatha, soon after the workers from Marula Platinum Mine in Burgersfort, in the Sekhukhune region of Limpopo, tested positive.

The mine invited its 3,300 employees through SMS and e-mail to report for duty after lockdown work policies were relaxed.

“Following the call, a total of 2,700 employees residing in the province initially responded to the call and reported for duty. The workers were screened and none tested positive,” said health MEC Phophi Ramathuba.

A further 130 employees only reported for screening on 4 May and, when they asked where they had been, they did not give clear answers.

“That’s when the mine subjected all of them to a compulsory testing, resulting in 13 of them testing positive.”

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mantashe urged mineworkers and owners to stick to the regulations of the health department for fighting the spread of the virus.

“The only way to lower the curve in the spread of the virus is to sanitise, keeping distance, covering noses and mouths, washing hands, testing and quarantining if and when we see signs of having virus,” Mantashe said.

“We urged all mineworkers to be prepared to be tested and quarantined for at least for 14 days before they start with mining operations.

“When people come from epicentres of the virus, quarantine them. If you are from the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Western Cape, allow to be quarantined because if we fail to do so, it could be dangerous to other mineworkers and the community. Screening must happen daily and testing must be done if and when there is a need to,” he said.

“We are extremely worried by the rapid increase of infection cases in the district as it has now become the epicentre in the province.

“Of all four local municipalities, only Fetakgomo Tubatse municipality has active positive cases,” said Stan Ramaila, mayor for the Sekhukhune District Municipality.

“We’re pleading with the communities to be extremely vigilant and call on the mines to increase their health and safety protocols.

“But we want to urge that, among other things, our mines must screen, test and quarantine all the workers for at least 14 days in terms of the agreement reached when the government briefed the district command council,” said Ramaila.

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