COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. COVID-19 has a growing impact on global economies. An impact that will be felt for a long time to come. Most organisations are faced with situations that they have never thought to consider previously and they are being asked to do so quickly as the virus is spreading at an alarming rate. This Risk Advisory Africa page offers a place to help business leaders manage and mitigate their risk.
Whilst we could potentially assume that the intention is not to limit the number of people working in a particular building such as an office block or campus, the regulation is not strictly clear. However, based on the usage of the term ‘gathering’, this would almost certainly apply to call centres, factories and open-plan working spaces where large groups of people gather to execute their job. Key to ensuring compliance would be to ensure that less than 100 people gather in a particular area, there is at least not more than 1 person per square meter of floor space as well as general health and safety precautions (i.e. hygiene, hand sanitizer, etc.). Even critical business services such as datacentres, hospitals and food retailers need to ensure compliance during the national lockdownCOVID-19 Regulations View / Download PDF
As we are all acutely aware of these new restrictions, food retailers, who will remain open during the national lock down, are still required to ensure compliance to these regulations to the effect that no liquor may be sold from 6pm to 9am weekdays and Saturdays and from 1pm on Sundays and Public Holidays. Most food retailers, who sell liquor in the form of wine (general and sparkling), may face a hefty penalty including up to 6 months imprisonment for non-compliance. It is important to note that liquor stores will be required to shut doors during the lockdown as they are not deemed a critical business service.
The President in his state of the nation address on Monday, 23 March 2020 made it clear that the regulations will be strictly enforced and there will be zero-tolerance for non-compliance. Regulatory compliance functions within organisations should assess the impact on their operations and support the design of appropriate control mechanisms to ensure compliance.
Find the full list of COVID-19 Regulations here.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us should have any questions or need any clarity on these or other regulations.