The South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority and Reserve Bank Prudential Authority have issued a directive under the regulations for s27(2) Disaster Management Act 2002.

On 23 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa imposed a nationwide 21-day 'lockdown' period to deal with the Coronavirus, which has been playing havoc with the smooth running of South Africa's financial sector. This has since been extended and is still in progress, with no date for its end in sight.

Various categories of people and businesses that provide essential goods and services, including the services necessary to maintain the financial system as outlined in paragraph 3.1 and 3.2 of Part B of Annexure B of the regulations, are exempted.

A head of a financial institution must, if he determines various members of staff as essential, endeavour to limit them to as small a number as possible and, as far as possible, let people work remotely.
The financial institution must take precautionary measures to reduce the risk of exposure, transmission and spread of the virus, limiting the number of staff required to be at its offices, to a minimum and must:

• replace face-to-face contact with virtual communications where possible;
• implement a spacing policy that requires a safe distance of 1½ metres;
• arrange seats so that participants are at least 1½ metres apart, if a physical meeting is necessary;
• avoid face-to-face meetings where possible; and
• where possible, provide employees with sufficient personal protective supplies and materials, including tissues and hand sanitisers.

In addition, the financial institution must:

• establish the necessary protocols for 'screening' the temperatures of everyone who enters or leaves the premises and take reasonable steps to ensure that staff with COVID-19-like symptoms,  including a mild cough or a low-grade fever (37.3°C or more) are identified, tested and are required to stay at home;
• require employees to stay at home even if they only have mild symptoms of COVID-19;
• keep a register of the names and contact details of all the staff and visitors on the premises for at least a month (the idea here is to help the Government to trace contact);
• establish procedures for staff who are ill at work, which includes the setting-up of an isolation room;
• require any staff member who has come into contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case to self-quarantine at home for 14 days;
• encourage respiratory etiquette, asking people to cover up coughs and sneezes with tissues or elbows;
• educate employees about reducing the spread of the virus;
• discourage employees from using other employees’ phones, desks, offices, or other work tools and equipment;
• make hand soap and running water available, or an alcohol-based hand-rub containing at least 70% alcohol;
• provide the workplace with surface disinfectants and disposable towels;
• require people to wash their hands regularly; and
• clean and disinfect frequently-touched surfaces.

The firm must develop and "implement an infectious disease preparedness and response plan" and choose a workplace co-ordinator to be responsible for anything related to COVID-19 and to respond to the authorities if they want information.