‘South Africa gazettes new COVID-19 guidelines as cases increase’ 20 May 2020

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced the guidelines yesterday, which require miners to implement a code of practice to mitigate and manage the outbreak of COVID-19. It said a failure by employers to prepare and implement a code would constitute a criminal offence but did not specify any penalties. The guidelines outline sterilisation, screening and testing measures, require miners provide flu vaccinations, allow physical distances of 1-2m and provide relevant PPE for areas of mass transit or close contact.

…The new rules come as the number of COVID-19 cases in the industry has almost doubled, from 23 on Friday to 41 yesterday, according to the Minerals Council South Africa. It had announced the industry's first death due to COVID-19 last week and said it understood most of the cases at the time were not as a result of on-mine transmission. Impala Platinum has since suspended Marula due to a cluster of 19 cases "at and around" the platinum group metals operation in the Limpopo province.

…"The Minerals Council believes the industry will be comfortable about observance of the guidelines," it said yesterday. Resources minister Gwede Mantashe has conducted unannounced visits to mining operations to monitor compliance with lockdown regulations. The country employs about 500,000 people in the mining industry. South Africa has 17,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 312 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University today