Banks told to provide sanitisers as ATM queues flagged as COVID-19 risks

Massive queues at banks and ATMs with little social distancing have been flagged as potential COVID-19 super spreaders and banks have now been instructed to provide sanitisers at all their cash machines.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said that during the festive season people were at risk as they queued mostly at ATMs with no sanitization insight.

South Africa is in the grip of a second wave of the pandemic which has seen more than 5,000 COVID-19 related deaths since the beginning of this year.

One of the new level 3 amendments gazetted by the government speaks to the long queues seen at some of the banks and their ATMs.

Minister Dlamini-Zuma said that the new regulation called for the provision of sanitizers at every ATM, warning that they could easily become a source of mass infections.

“If one person has COVID-19 and leaves it on the machine, the others start queueing there are start using the machine, it’s a problem.”

Dlamini-Zuma said that the banks, like other institutions, had a responsibility to provide sanitizers in order to protect those who used their facilities.

She said that they too could face penalties for failing to adhere to the rules.

“So if they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, the penalties are there… they start from a fine or they can be imprisoned for up to six months.”

Dlamini-Zuma said that she believed that banks could provide sanitizers or get personnel to assist in this regard.

-EWN

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She seems to be having the best of her maternity leave. No doubt the bouncing baby boy is more than a bundle of joy to Manaka Ranaka. Learn More

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