On the 10th July 2020, Prof.Kiama in his VC address, sadly announced that the UoN community has lost two of its staff members to Covid-19 as he sent out condolences to the families who had been affected. There are guidelines that have been issued to all public institutions from the Head of Public Service, in an urgent office circular dated 20th July 2020, that outlines measures that strictly need to be adhered to. These are:
1. Promotion of Social and Physical Distancing
- Avoid any form of congregation except as provided in government directives on Covid-19 pandemic;
- Re-arrange work places to not less than 1.5 metres between employees sharing an office; and
- Minimize walk-in visitors except by prior appointment,maintain social and physical distance and record the details of such visitors.
2. State and Public Officers with Pre-existing Medical Conditions
- All State and Public Officers with pre-existing medical conditions and/or aged 58 years and above serving in CSG5(Job group 'S') and below or their equivalents should forthwith work from home;and
- This excludes personnel in the security sector and other critical and essential services as outlined in the circular issued to the service on the 26th March, 2020.
3. Work Place Hygiene and Safety
- Provide face masks and personal protective equipment (PPEs) to staff;
- Provide alcohol based sanitizers and access to washing facilities with soap and clean water for staff and citizens accessing services;
- Carry out temperature checks for all staff and clients entering public offices;
- Ensure work places are clean and hygienic by regularly wiping surfaces such as door handles, desks, tables, telephones, and keyboards among others with disinfectant;
- Undertake regular fumigation of office premises, vehicles, wash rooms in line with guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health from time to time;
- Sanitize all incoming mail and documents prior to opening, encourage use of electronic mail and scanned documents;
- Staff and clients to wash hands frequently with soap and water or sanitize hands with alcohol based sanitizers;
- Cover nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with tissue or flexed elbow;
- Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms; and
- Wear face masks properly to cover nose and mouth while in public places at all times.
4. Working from Home
- Where the concept of working from home has been successfully implemented, such arrangements should continue to apply with clear targets and deliverables for the officers;
- Prepare a weekly duty rota covering minimum personnel numbers to ensure business continuity indicating the officers who will be in-charge of operations; and
- Where an officer is permitted in writing to work from home, there should be clear assignments, and targets tasked for the period designated and a clear reporting line to monitor and review work done.
5. Return to Work after Quarantine and Isolation
A public officers shall be required to satisfy the following conditions before returning to work:
- Obtain the requisite clearance from the Quarantine or Isolation facility certified by the designated persons indicating that the public officers is free and safe from the Covid-19. The officer will present these documents to his/her supervisor at the point of returning to work;
- Stay away from the duty stations for a period of seven (7) days after the date of medical certification;
- Comply with the government guidelines on prevention of Covid-19 including wearing of mask, social distancing, maintaining of clean surfaces and wearing of other personal protective equipment.
- Officers on self-quarantine will be required to report to their duty station after the expiry of the fourteen (14) day requirement;
- The period a public officers spends in Quarantine or Isolation due to Covid-19, shall be treated as sick leave and shall be subject to the provisions of the Human resource policies and procedures manual for the public services (May,2016); and
- No public officer shall be allowed to return to work without fulfilling the above requirements.
6. Stigma and Discrimination
- Public officers shall have access to adequate mental health and psychosocial support being offered by the government;
- Officers returning to work from Covid-19 Quarantine and/or Isolation shall not be discriminated or stigmatized; and
- It is an offense to discriminate any person on grounds of actual, perceived or suspected Covid-19 status in the work place.
7. Conduct of Meetings
Where meetings are necessary;
- All meetings of more than four (4) persons should be conducted through available online platforms such as Webex and Zoom;
- Ensure that participants are seated at least 1.5 meters apart and windows and doors are kept open whenever possible to make sure the venue is well ventilated;
- Ensure that participants wear face masks at all times during the meeting; and
- Ensure that all participants in physical meetings provide their contact details; mobile telephone number, email, and physical address.