The Federal Government has directed Ministries, Departments and Agendes (MDAs) to create isolation centres in offices as part of additional steps to curtail the spread of COVID-19. According to the guidelines released by the Head of Service of the Federation (HoS), the isolation centres in offices should be meant for those who might fall sick during working hours.
The regulations were contained in a document titled: ‘Guidelines on the control of COVID-19 service wide’, prepared by the office of the Head of Service of the Federation. The office said the guidelines were compiled out of the need to reduce the impact of the pandemic on government business and the public by controlling the spread of the disease in all the MDAs. It added that the guidelines were developed to complement the efforts of the Federal Government through the Presidential Task force on COVID-19.
The document recommended that MDAs should “designate holding area(s) with which will serve as isolation room(s) until potentially sick people can be safely moved from the workplace to the health facility.” It also asked the MDAs to “change workers from sharing work tools, equipment and items like computers, phones etc.” It further recommended frequent cleaning and disinfection of work surfaces, asking that close attention should be paid to high contact objects like door handles, hand rails, elevator buttons, keyboards, tools, toilets and sinks, among others.