The Citizen reports that support staff at Helen Joseph Hospital protested outside the facility on Monday and, among other requests, asked to be tested for Covid-19 after more than five nurses had tested positive for the virus.
A spokesperson for the protesters, Martha, advised that the protest action had begun last Friday. The spokesperson alleged that some wards, including the causality ward, had not been shut down and decontaminated after staff stationed in these wards had tested positive for Covid-19. Martha said the support staff were also protesting so that they could be tested as they feared for their safety. She further alleged that there had been no communication from the hospital’s management after some nurses tested positive for Covid-19. The protesters said they would on Monday hand over a memorandum of demands. This would include their demand for personal protective equipment (PPEs), because they had only been given masks and sanitisers. Hospital management would be given two days to respond to the protesters’ memorandum. Martha claimed that unions were not supporting their protest action, with union shop stewards working on Monday.
- Read the original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
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