As confirmed cases of the coronavirus accelerates across many communities in South Africa, Primedia Outdoor places the highest priority on the health, safety and well-being of its staff and their families, while protecting the continuity of its operations and essential functions.

“Since the onset of the national lockdown imposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Primedia Outdoor followed the guidelines as set by the President and became operational since lockdown level 4 with most staff working remotely whilst still ensuring we deliver the best possible service to our stakeholders at all times”, said Dave Roberts, CEO at Primedia Outdoor. “In accordance with the occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993 (OHSA), the Disaster Management Act, 57 of 2002 and World Health Organisation guidelines, Primedia Outdoor has put in place various health and safety procedures to mitigate the risk to the company and its valued employees during the COVID-19 pandemic”, he added.

Some of the measure Primedia Outdoor has put in place include:

• Engineering controls – isolating employees from work-related hazards, increasing ventilation rate and physical barriers such as open plan cubicle dividers in the work environment.
• Administrative controls – encouraging workers with comorbidities to stay at home; minimizing contact among workers, clients and customers by replacing face-to-face meetings with virtual communications e.g. conference calls, Skype, etc.; minimising the number of workers on site at any given time by rotational work; providing workers with up-to-date education and training on COVID-19 risk factors and protective behaviour’s (e.g. cough etiquette and care of PPE). Continuous screening throughout the day of staff in the work environment i.e. temperature checks adherence to controls put in place. Weekly remote screening via online questionnaire to assess potential infections of all staff.   
• Safe Work Practices – these include procedures for safe and proper work used to reduce the duration, frequency, or intensity of potential exposure to a hazard. Provide resources and a work environment that promotes personal hygiene. For example, no-touch refuse bins, hand soap, alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 70 percent alcohol, disinfectants, and disposable paper towels for workers to clean their hands and their work surfaces, regular hand washing, and handwashing signs displayed in restrooms. Continuous review and alignment of Risk factors within the workplace.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – while engineering and administrative controls are considered to be more effective in minimizing exposure to SARS-CoV-2, PPE is needed to prevent exposure to COVID-19. Examples of PPE used at Primedia Outdoor include: gloves, goggles, face shields, and face masks. The COVID-19 management team checks the NICD website regularly for updates about recommended PPE.

“Since the outbreak of the pandemic on our shores, we have been very hard at work to ensure we have the appropriate measures and plans in place to safeguard our staff and the communities in which we operate”, said Ravi Naicker, Operations Executive at Primedia Outdoor, appointed as the COVID-19 Manager. “Furthermore, Primedia Outdoor is fully compliant with all COVID-19 regulations as prescribed by Government and the World Health Organisation”, he added.