The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) freight operations and health services have been declared essential services during the 21-day national lockdown period to slow down the spread of Covid-19.
In a statement yesterday NRZ said it’s freight trains will be operating as normal to ferry critical commodities needed by the country and economy. These include coal, maize, wheat, fuel, among others.
“NRZ health services will also provide medical checks on staff to ensure they are not infected by the virus while NRZ community clinics in various parts of the country will continue offering services to local communities.
“However, all inter-city passenger trains and the Bulawayo-Cowdray Park commuter train have been suspended for the duration of the lockdown,” said the railway firm.
NRZ said internal measures have also been taken to complement Government’s efforts to halt the spread of Covid-19. As such, non-railway employees are not allowed to visit NRZ premises while business visitors may be allowed in exceptional circumstances with approval of the respective director or branch head, said the company.
“To minimise human contact, which is one of the main ways of transmitting Covid-19, face-to-face meetings have been suspended.
“In cases where face-to-face meetings are necessary, social distancing of at least 1.5 metres will be observed,” it said.
In place of face-to-face meetings, the NRZ is encouraging its workers to make use of technology to communicate. Employees are encouraged to use teleconferencing, Skype and other similar technologies.
The company said written communication has been synchronised to few outlet channels of internet, email and specific social media posts.
“All out of town non-operational trips have been suspended except in cases where they are unavoidable and have been approved by a senior manager.
The organisation has also put aside a budget to procure essential items required in the fight against the global pandemic,” it said.
The NRZ medical section runs four industrial and 10 community clinics throughout the country. Industrial clinics cater for employees while community clinics also extend service to the surrounding communities.
Government recently declared Covid-19 a state of national disaster, which requires all businesses to take measures to complement efforts to stop the spread of the disease. The Chronicle
