In the first three pieces in our small business COVID-19 survival guides, we explore ways to empower your staff, useful work-from-home software and tips for increasing your sales, respectively. In this piece, we will look at how small business owners can manage their operations safely and healthily during this pandemic. 

During the past few months, since the announcement of the Coronavirus outbreak in South Africa and the subsequent hard lockdown, we’ve heard the below points repeatedly, however during this time of crisis, these tips need to be digested and utilised by businesses. 

How to help manage the epidemic:

1. If your office or store has reopened for business, ensure that you provide hand sanitiser for all employees and visitors in all areas of your space to ensure that they have easy access.

   
   

2. Ensure that your staff members and visitors always wear a mask as this has been a punishable offence by the government if not adhered to. 

   
   

3. Stop travelling. Unless it’s an absolute emergency, we suggest refraining from unnecessary travelling. Due to South Africans not following lockdown restrictions, President Ramaphosa, on Sunday announced new level 3 restrictions. 

   
   

4. Try wherever possible to minimise visitations to clients and suppliers and vice versa. Instead, opt for using the telephone, email or Skype/Zoom.

   
   

5. Allow your staff to work from home wherever possible.

   
   

6. Consider limiting the potential spread of the virus by allowing staff to work in shifts if possible try to limit the number of people working in a confined space.

   
   

7. Ensure that your office space has fresh air. Opt for opening windows as opposed to using AC.

   
   

8. Of course, we know that you can’t always control where your employees go or whom they’re interacting with. That being said, ensure that you invest in a thermal thermometer to check the temperatures of all employees and visitors on arrival at reception. 

   
   

What to do if an employee is infected:

Next, we’ll outline some key aspects concerning COVID-19 which small business owners need to consider should an employee contract the virus: 

1. Ensure that you provide prompt counselling and support to the infected employee as per your institution’s guidelines or standard operating procedures.

   
   

2. Promptly provide the employee with a surgical mask (if they don’t already have one) and relocate the employee to a secure, well-ventilated area (this area should ideally be identified before such incident) if the employee is present at the workplace.

   
   

3. Provide or arrange for the employee’s condition to be assessed with respect to their personal health care (workplace provider / private health provider).

   
   

4. Should the employee not require admission and is sent home instead, ensure that the person adheres to self-isolation at home or at one of the designated isolation facilities, which you need to identify as the employer in line with National Department of Health guidelines.

   
   

5. As the employer, you need to ensure that the employee is not discriminated against in any way on the grounds of having tested positive for COVID-19.

   
   

6. Report the employee’s personal details to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in line with the Notifiable Medical Conditions protocols

   
   

Conclusion:

For more information and guidelines on the prevention of COVID-19 infection and the correct procedures to take in the event of an infection, visit the sacoronavirus.co.za site. In our next piece, we explore ways of working better with your money and cash flow.