Civil servants who get infected with coronavirus (COVID-19) in the line of duty will be treated for free and granted six months leave, the Zimbabwean government has said.
Zimbabwe also disclosed that the leave comes with full pay.
In Zimbabwe, civil servants are entitled to 90 days’ sick-leave on full salary, but possible complications due to COVID-19 have led the government to revise the regulation.
The Secretary for the Public Service Commission, Jonathan Wutawunashe, said the commission is looking at several adjustments to protect its workers.
He said the government has adjusted “a lot of things to protect workers, such as the length of time staff can be ill and still be paid their full salary”.
Zimbabwe has since directed the bulk of its workers to work from home in a bid to curtail the spread of COVID-19.
He added that negotiations are ongoing for a final agreement aimed at improving civil servants’ terms of employment including their salaries and wages.
Zimbabwe has recorded 6,292 covid-19 cases and 189 deaths at the time of this report. In Africa, Zimbabwe is the 21st most infected nation with South Africa at number 1 with 618,286 infected persons.