Mantashe confirms 384 Covid-19 cases in mining industry
The minister also announced that failure to follow the Covid-19 regulations under level 3 will be regarded as a criminal offence.
Gwede Mantashe briefs the media on the outcomes of the special National executive Committee meeting at Luthuli House, 14 November 2017. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe announced on Friday that the mining industry has reported 384 positive cases of Covid-19 as of Thursday, 28 May 2020.
Mantashe said that prior to ramping up production, all mining operations are required to prepare and implement a mandatory code of practice to manage the Covid-19 regulations, and failure to do so will be regarded as a criminal offence.
The minister said his department will continue to monitor compliance through regular unannounced and scheduled visit to mining operations. The testing and screening of people has helped to detect the virus in various mines.
“A new complication that is emerging is people who show no signs of Covid-19, but test positive. This tells us that we need to intensify our screening and testing programme,” he continued.
On mining, he said that all deep mining operations are expected to ramp up to full capacity under lockdown level 3.
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