GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Participants in the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) will soon be sent out into the Garden Route District to do awareness creation in Covid-19 hotspot areas regarding proper hygiene protocols that are necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The EPWP workers are currently undergoing training and orientation presented by environmental health practitioners of the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM).
Their mission will be to ensure that all members of the public in certain identified hotspots are adequately informed to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
The hotspot areas include general public facilities such as municipal facilities, public toilets and taxi ranks, food premises – spaza shops, soup kitchens, informal settlements and government grant pay points including ATM’s, post offices and/or any other business premises which are utilised to distribute grants.
This follows the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) identifying the EPWP as well as non-profit organisations (NPOs) to help the Department of Health deliver public health services that will help to control the spread of Covid-19.
The department has signed a three month agreement with the Independent Development Trust on 12 April to contract qualifying NPOs throughout the country in 44 districts and 8 metros, to appoint young people (16-35 years) to participate in this initiative.
The NPOs will be required to sign three month contracts with each EPWP participant. The Garden Route district was allocated 119 participants (George 41, Hessequa 23, Mossel Bay 15, Oudtshoorn 12, Bitou 10, Knysna 10 and Kannaland 8).
All participants will perform their duties under the supervision of the environmental health practitioners.
Their activities will include the following:
* health promotion on COVID-19 prevention, hand washing practices and social distancing measures in public places;
distribution of hygiene soap and hand sanitizers in identified high risk communities, education on proper handwashing techniques;
* home-to-home education interventions, where required; and
* cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched high-risk areas, e.g. communal water collection points, taxi ranks and other places identified by the applicable municipality.
Identification cards
The DPWI has issued personal protective equipment and identification cards to the NPOs which must be used by participants while they are on duty.
GRDM environmental health practitioners had to identify the hotspots within the local municipal areas.
The Health Section of the GRDM was tasked to train the EPWP personnel in line with the Golden Rules to prevent or minimise the spread of Covid-19 in the district. The training programme took place at the beginning of June.
The following stakeholders are involved in the coordination of this project: DPWI, Independent Development Trust, NPOs Edu-Plett and God Care International, Department of Employment and Labour, GRDM and local municipalities in the Garden Route district.
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