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Tribune News Network
Doha
The Road Projects Department at the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), in coordination with its contractors and consultants, has developed and implemented an emergency plan to protect workers, employees and residents in the areas within the department’s projects from the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Eng Saoud al Tamimi, manager of the Road Projects Department, said the measures under the plan include medical examination of all workers to detect symptoms of the disease and implementation of a policy to prevent visits to its offices, sites and residential facilities.
Ashghal contractors will monitor workers and employees for any symptoms of the disease. They will measure body temperature of each person and follow up on any sign of infection, immediately presenting him to the direct supervisors and health officials for necessary measures. Workers or employees will not be allowed to report at the sites if they have any symptoms of COVID-19.
The authority also instructed its contractors to provide a unified contact number at the
workers’ residence to report any cases of the disease. They should take measures to familiarise the workers with the symptoms of the disease and to report any suspected case to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).
Tamimi said that in order to facilitate monitoring and follow-up, the department directed contractors to divide workers in all housing and residence facilities into groups of up to 100 individuals. This is in addition to providing and managing isolation units inside the facilities and ensuring that the isolated do not come into contact with workers or other residents until they are transferred to the Communicable Disease Center.
In the same context, the Road Projects Department has undertaken a number of awareness measures to familiarise workers and employees with the disease, its symptoms and effects, while providing a list of ‘necessary and prohibited practices’ to prevent its spread among workers through illustrated publications in several languages.
The department also educates workers on the need of hand hygiene and the etiquette to be followed when sneezing or coughing. Ashghal has also sent voice instructions through WhatsApp to all medical personnel at the projects to introduce the required and prohibited practices to deal with the disease.
The Road Projects Department has also worked with its contractors to provide all the necessary tools to maintain personal hygiene in workers’ housing, workplaces, health and care areas, and dining halls at worksites, including hand washing facilities with all the cleaning and sanitising supplies.
The department has also instructed contractors to ensure sterilisation and cleaning of all areas, including housing, eating spaces and site offices, in addition to workers’ leisure facilities at work sites such as the dining hall, toilets, buses and transportation vehicles. Periodic cleaning should be ensured of all surfaces that are frequently touched at work sites and accommodation facilities.
Moreover, Ashghal has taken several measures to prevent the spread of the virus among workers at project sites, including reducing the number of workers allowed in the buses to half, sanitising the vehicles regularly and ensuring sufficient distance between the workers on the bus, in dining halls and on worksites. In addition, Ashghal regularly checks the availability of gloves, masks and sanitising supplies at worksites and offices.
As part of the precautionary measures, Eng Tamimi said that he directed the local road project contractors to cancel all activities that include direct interaction with the public, whether individually or in groups, in addition to the cancelling of periodic visits to homes to ensure the safety of residents. All communications should be through phone calls and e-mail.
The department ensures the implementation of these precautionary procedures through random inspections and audits of workers’ housing, in addition to making field visits to project sites. Special crisis management teams have been formed to deal with any crisis and issue measures needed to be followed by workers.
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31/03/2020
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