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Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002)

Notices

Directions regarding e-Commerce Sales during Alert Level 4 of COVID-19

5. Protocols for e-Commerce retailers

 

All retailers using e-Commerce platforms to sell goods must ensure the following:

 

(a) All Regulations and Directions in respect of hygienic workplace conditions and the potential exposure of employees to COVID-19 must be adhered to, including the Covid-19 Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Workplaces directions issued by the Minister of Employment of Labour and published in Government Notice 479 on 29 April 2019, which for ease of reference has been set out in Annexure A.

 

(b) In addition, employees may not share face masks, equipment, stationery, utensils or similar items, and Designated and adequately trained health and safety officers must take each employee’s temperatures using appropriate equipment or instruments at the start of a shift and every four hours after the shift commences. Records of the temperatures of each employee must be kept. Any employee whose temperature is 37,5 degrees or above should immediately be moved to an isolated observation room for a second measurement. If the second test measurement also exceeds 37,5 degrees, the employee must be returned home for self-quarantine, provided with a surgical mask and not be permitted to enter or stay on the premises.

 

(c) In order to limit the social and economic hardship caused by the pandemic on local industries and enable consumer choice to support local producers, retailers must give prominence to those goods which are manufactured in the Republic of South Africa.

 

(d) Retailers must provide for as many payment options as possible for consumers, that are based on reducing risks of transmission, and enabling poorer consumers to access delivery services.

 

(e) When packaging goods, retailers must provide written guidelines for customers on how to safely disinfect their goods before use.

 

(f) Retailers must put in place collection protocols to ensure that adequate social distancing is maintained by courier or delivery service personnel when collecting goods from a warehouse or depot.

 

(g) All goods must be sanitised, in line with the guidelines published by the National Department of Health, before leaving the warehouse or depot.