Hangana’s COVID 19 Success Story

Having faced a number of challenges this year Hangana Seafood has really stood out with its commitment to look after its employees throughout this pandemic. When the COVID 19 cases started rising in Walvis Bay, a COVID 19 Committee was immediately established. Wellness and Risk were involved from the beginning and made sure all necessary safety measures /protocols as well as emotional assistance for the employees were in place. The well-being of employees and their families were of utmost importance to the company. Even though most of the focus was on Covid-19, Hangana had to find a balance between operations and taking care of its employees and their families in order to remain operational throughout whilst preventing the spread of the virus.

Due to the government quarantine facilities being overcrowded, Hangana had set up a fully furnished isolation warehouse facility with a maximum of 30 beds. The company rather wanted to be well-prepared than under-prepared. The warehouse was inspected by health officials of the Ministry of Health and received certification as an approved COVID-19 facility for quarantine and isolation. Employees were provided daily with three balanced meals and soft drinks whilst strict safety rules and regulations had to be adhered to in terms of deliveries and pickups. The company’s onsite clinic nurses attended daily to the employees with necessary health checkups and reported on their well-being. Up until now the warehouse had been utilized only for 14 positive crew members who have since recovered and are healthy and fit for work.

Panel Houses were also set up at the same time, along the quayside of Hangana, to house and keep safe all negative crew members upon arrival from sea. Houses were kitted out with 16 bunk beds as well as onsite toilet facilities. Employees were attended to by wellness as well as nurses whilst waiting for their next voyage. Food parcels were also sent out on a regular basis with get well wishes to all other employees in governmental isolation facilities as well as in self-isolation. Sadly, the company had lost one employee who had struggled for years with an underlying condition and on top of it contracted COVID 19. The company has from the beginning and is still striving to do its utmost for its employees to make them feel safe, and well taken care of.