SOUTH KOREA
The South Korean Government has announced a set of tough social distancing guidelines for Public Servants, employees of State-owned enterprises and the military as part of its campaign to reduce COVID-19 infections.
The guidelines call for the expansion of telecommuting among public officials, flexible working hours and restrictions on after-work activities out of home.
At work, Public Servants are required to minimise face-to-face meetings or briefings and business trips abroad.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has been told to stop holding events for foreign diplomats, and the Ministry of Justice must curtail the transfer of prison inmates.
The Ministry of Transport will impose a “top-notch quarantine system” for public transit services, in which the passenger seats on buses and trains will be separated.
Cyprus’ Public Service union claimed workers had been threatened with loss of salary if they could not work from home.
The Equality (Isiotita) union also said some Government Departments did not have antiseptic wipes.
“We are getting a lot of circulars, decisions and decrees concerning the Civil Service that are often unclear and are leading to Departments making their own decisions,” the union said.
In Fiji, the Ministry of Civil Service says all Public Servants should continue to report to work even though parts of Lautoka, the island nation’s second city, are in lockdown.
The Ministry said Public Servants who lived and worked in the Lautoka confined area should report to their normal place of work.
“Civil Servants who live outside the Lautoka confined area, but work within the confined area, are to report to the nearest Government office of their Ministry outside the area,” the Ministry said.
Seoul, 24 March 2020
