CAIRO: Up to half of bank employees in Egypt will be encouraged to work from home under guidelines to counter a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Measures recommended by the Federation of Egyptian Banks (FEB) also include a ban on face-to-face meetings.
In a letter to banks, the FEB said its guidelines were aimed at ensuring sustainable operations “in the current circumstances.”
Banks will continue to operate from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the public and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for employees.
Previous guidelines were issued by the FEB on March 30 and April 5.
The federation's latest plan includes a follow-up on alternative workplaces to allow departments to continue working in cases of forced interruption.
The plan also issues strict instructions on wearing face masks in the workplace and while using the bank’s buses.
Employees also have been urged to follow precautionary measures while using public or private transport, and to avoid crowded places.
The FEB banned face-to-face meetings, replacing these with video conference meetings, and also underlined instructions to sanitize all surfaces using alcohol-based sanitizers, to regularly sanitize all workplaces at weekends, to provide sanitizers in areas that host employees and clients, and to regularly sanitize all main elevators.
Office boys and janitors have been instructed to wear face masks and to use paper cups instead of glass or metal ones.
The FEB said it will continue to post awareness videos and statements on combating the coronavirus.
It has urged banks to use e-payments, to continue banning delivery persons from entering the workplace, to continue halting the delivery of daily newspapers and magazines, and to continue temperature testing by security officials at workplace entrances.
