​Shahnaz Howell is a Senior Environmental Health Practitioner, the 47-year-old has been with the City of Cape Town for 22 years.

Currently she is part of the Health Service COVID-19 response team, and spends much of her time in communities, conducting education and awareness activities alongside her colleagues around health and safety protocols to mitigate the spread of the virus.

    

​​‘It has been challenging to adapt to a new way of life in the working environment, as staff have to be super mindful about their contact with the public and keep things like social distancing top of mind. Also, the use of personal protective equipment like masks has been something to get used to,’ said Howell.

In her day to day functions, Howell focuses on COVID-19 awareness and tracing and following up with contact cases.

Some of the interventions she has been part of have included blitzes at Public Interchanges, a Health Care Risk Waste Blitz operation, which she describes as quite an experience, as well as being on the health promotions team that did duty at the Strandfontein Temporary Shelter.

‘A lot of what we are involved in is really stressful, not only because of the physical environment and the new risks that the pandemic has brought to the fore, but also because of the increased risk to our personal safety. But I try to always remain positive and draw inspiration from my team.

‘One should always stay focused and on guard, for the sake of public safety, but also your own. If I could share one message with the public, it would be to ensure that they know the do’s and don’ts around COVID-19 and to stay at home and follow the safety guidelines,’ added Howell.

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