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Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (Act No. 29 of 1996)

Notices

Guideline for the Compilation of a Mandatory Code of Practice for the Prevention, Mitigation and Management of COVID-19 outbreak

Part A: The Guideline

1. Foreword

 

1.1 During late 2019, the first cases of a new disease, later named COVID-19 by the WHO, were reported by healthcare workers from Wuhan, China. In January 2020,the WHO declared COVID-19, as a public health emergency of international concern and later in March 2020 declared it a global pandemic.

 

1.2 On 15 March 2020 the President of South Africa declared a national state of disaster on COVID-19, in terms of the DMA; which introduced several restrictions aimed to curb the disease. Despite these measures, the numbers of COVID-19 increased dramatically and on 26 March 2020, a document named the "Guiding Principles on the Prevention and Management of COVID-19 in the South African Mining Industry", in a bid to provide guidance to the South African mining industry members on how to prevent and manage the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The guiding principles were developed through the MHSC in consultation with the tripartite stakeholders.

 

1.3 On 26 March 2020, a nation-wide lockdown was declared in South Africa. The President of South Africa further announced that companies whose operations require continuous processes such as furnaces and underground mining operations will be required to make arrangements for care and maintenance to avoid damage to their continuous operations.The lockdown was extended from the 16 April 2020 to the end of April 2020.

 

1.4 Also, amended regulations were issued on 16 April 2020 in terms of section 27(2) of the DMA. On 29 April 2020, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy issued directions in terms of regulation 10(8) of the regulations issued in terms of section 27(2) of the DMA.

 

1.5 Following an order handed down in the Labour Court of South Africa on 1 May 2020, the DMRE in consultation with MHSC developed a guideline in accordance with section 9 of the MHSA. The guideline requires employers to prepare and implement a COP for the prevention, mitigation and management of COVID-19 outbreak.

 

1.6 This guideline has been developed to provide a framework to mitigate and manage COVID-19 outbreak amongst employees in the South African mining industry and this serves as the first revision of the guideline following legislative developments and guidelines issued by the NDOH.