Eskom donates learning academy to government for quarantine site

27 March 2020

As part of its efforts to assist in the fight to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Eskom has today handed its Academy of Learning (EAL) centre in Midrand, Johannesburg, over to the government to be used as a quarantine site. The facility, which has 416 beds and other facilities, will be used to accommodate guests of the government who have to undergo a period of quarantine and observation for signs of the Covid-19 virus.

“In accordance with our own values of Zero Harm and Sinobuntu, Eskom pledges to be an active and responsive partner to the people of South Africa as we embark on this unprecedented struggle against the common enemy that is the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Eskom group chief executive, André de Ruyter.

Making this facility available will help contribute to the Gauteng department of health’s efforts to find about 10 000 beds to accommodate its guests in facilities that still afford them the privacy and dignity they should expect during this difficult time, according to Dr Sifiso Maseko, head of Infrastructure at the Gauteng department of health.

In line with the department of health’s requirements, the Gauteng health department has taken over and will run the facility during the period of the national lockdown, and for some time thereafter. Following the government’s demobilization process, and based on the World Health Organisation’s best practice, the property will then be handed back to Eskom to continue to be used in the normal business of training.

Issued by Eskom Media Desk, 27 March 2020