CAPE TOWN – JSE-listed Sasol on Wednesday donated 1 500 litres of hand sanitiser to the City of Johannesburg to be allocated to the most vulnerable facilities as part of its support for citizens across Gauteng during the Covid-19 crisis.
The integrated chemicals and energy company brushed aside market woes, as the global energy market and oil price continues to be heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, to deliver the 1 500 litres of hand sanitiser to the office of the executive mayor, who will in turn allocate these to fenceline places of public interest and activity around the province with the greatest need.
At a handover ceremony at the City of Johannesburg Regional Offices in Johannesburg Sasol’s senior vice president of corporate affairs Cindy Mogotsi said: “As the country braces itself for an increase in infections, as well as the resultant influx of patients into hospitals, it is crucial that these facilities are well prepared with adequate volumes of hand sanitisers to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 and other contaminants that could exacerbate the situation.”
Mogotsi said with some medical centres being less resourced than others, the company felt a duty to support those who were most likely to experience shortages due to supply constraints.
As the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise in South Africa, general hand hygiene remains an effective line of defence against the pandemic.
In mid-April, Sasol and its partners delivered a bulk shipment of hand sanitiser liquid to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic, Charlotte Maxeke Academic, Helen Joseph and Leratong hospitals. Sasol and its partners worked with hospital managers to establish innovative ways to address the growing need for sanitiser in a sustainable way.
Mogotsi said Sasol had also donated thousands of gloves, soaps and masks to destitute communities across all seven regions of the City of Tshwane, the City of Ekurhuleni and the taxi industry in Gauteng.
The company said, in anticipation of the reopening of schools and the additional hygiene protocols that would be required, it would later this week deliver an additional 1 500 litres of hand sanitiser to the Gauteng Department of Health, as well as sanitiser to the Department of Education. This will be .
“As the National Lockdown is lifted, we anticipate large-scale hygiene interventions and expect to be inundated with requests, especially from schools and medical facilities, where children and sick people will be expected to spend long hours in high density and congested conditions,” said Mogotsi.