MOHRE urges private establishments to take precautions to protect workers from coronavirus

In a bid to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) urged private sector establishments to take serious precautionary measures adhering to public health rules, cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, and providing disinfectants and sterilization tools within the reach of workers at workplaces, housing, and means of transporting workers, as part of preventive measures against the novel coronavirus.

In a circular it sent to the establishments registered with MOHRE, the ministry also called them to lay down plans to ensure business continuity and readiness of human resources as well as alternative strategies in these facilities if cases infected with the virus were identified. 

The Ministry stressed that it’s important for any establishment that shows symptoms of COVID-19 infection for any of its employees to take the necessary precautions and immediately contact the competent authorities to take the applicable measures.

The Ministry has also included in its circular guidelines on the novel coronavirus and occupational health and safety requirements to prevent its spread and explain it, by competent staff at the facilities, particularly to limited-skill workers.

The guidelines included introducing the virus, the symptoms that appear on people who contract it, and the procedures that must be followed to prevent its spread, according to the instructions issued by the Ministry of Health and Society Prevention.

The guidelines stressed the need to provide a sufficient supply of hand sanitizer in the workplace and onetime use disposable masks as well as preparing posters in the languages that workers understand in the workplace and housing, which include the procedures to be followed to prevent the virus, besides following the health habits and practices for workers, and avoiding performing work tasks collectively unless necessary.

The guidelines also emphasized sterilization of the means of transportation carefully every day and the provision of hand sanitizer at bus doors for use by workers upon boarding.

The Ministry urged the establishments to sterilize all the facilities of labor housing thoroughly and provide thermal detectors to measure the temperature of workers at the entrances of labor housing.