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FEVER 22 April 2021
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A gallery security guard Mazwi Mazeka taking Francesca Verga’s temperatures before she enters the gallery. PHOTO: MOEKETSI MAMANE
COVID BROUGHT A
fresh set of challenges for guards NTANDOYENKOSI DLAMINI
P
RIOR to the Covid-19 pandemic, security guards maintained a silent presence in retail stores, malls and pharmacies — keeping an eye on potential thieves and easing minor quarrels at cash registers. But for many of them their role has now changed and entails more direct interaction with customers as they take temperatures and ensure customers comply with Covid-19 protocols. A security guard on the South Coast, Jabulani Hadebe, said when the pandemic started he feared for his life. Hadebe said when he heard that he was also an essential worker, he panicked because he realised that he now had to work with people who could possibly be infected with the virus. “My biggest worry was contracting Covid-19 and going back home to spread it, but with God be-
ing good, I have not been infected yet. “Something exciting that came with the pandemic was the introduction of forehead thermometers. Screening customers was something new to me and I enjoyed it the first few months,” he said. Another security guard in Margate, Mncedisi Khumalo, said asking people to maintain social distancing and cover their faces while queueing has been a challenge. “I have realised that some people prefer to start a fight than to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. “Some don’t even understand when I tell them that because of visitor number restrictions, they have to wait outside,” said Khumalo. Senzo Ngubo, a security guard at a liquor store, said he was recently attacked by an angry customer who was asked to wait to enter the store because of capacity restrictions.
“Some get irritated when we have to take their temperatures using the forehead thermometers, they show us their necks and wrists so that we can get it from there. “People are angry but it is not our fault, we are just doing our job,” said Ngubo. He added that although he has been at a higher risk of contracting the virus, it has been a pleasure for him to enforce Covid-19 protocols and keep customers safe. Mluleki Chiya said if it were not for the pandemic, he does not think he would have been hired as security guard. “I had been looking for a job for over a year with no luck, but after the first lockdown things somehow changed. I received two job offers before choosing the one I am currently employed in, and I think businesses realised that they need more security personnel to enforce regulations and keep staff members and the public safe.”
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