This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
Mining Weekly reports that a new index has been created to provide an empirical basis for ranking the physical-interaction dimension of the Covid-19 transmission risk for various occupations in SA.
This tool could help guide policymakers in evaluating which sectors place workers at a higher or lower risk of contracting the virus as lockdown measures are eased. Developed by academics at the University of Cape Town’s Development Policy Research Unit, the Physical Interaction Index takes account of the role that human proximity and contact plays in the spread of Covid-19. In a working paper, it is acknowledged that physical interaction is but one dimension of the overall Covid-19 transmission risk. Other factors include the link to infection rates per age, how easily the work environment can be adapted to safety protocols, or the capacity of the public health system at a given point in time. Given that the virus spreads when uninfected individuals come into contact with respiratory droplets from an infected person who coughs or sneezes, however, the authors argue that it is important to understand the level of physical interaction people have on the job or on their way to work. To assess this risk, the paper seeks to offer evidence-based insight into how physical human interaction was distributed across different sectors in SA just before the pandemic hit.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page