New Delhi: A spate of Covid-19 cases at Nirman Bhavan, which houses the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has caused grave concern.
The series of Covid-19 infections has come to light since 14 August, when Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal, who has been the face of India’s coronavirus communication, announced that he had tested positive. Those infected thus far include an additional secretary and a number of officers at various levels.
In light of the cases, the administrative section of the health ministry has issued a fresh directive for strict adherence to Covid-19 norms, advising work from home for employees “feeling unwell”. A deep sanitisation of the building is slated for the coming weekend.
Agarwal returned to work Monday.
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SOP for workplaces
The Covid-19 cases detected at the ministry since 14 August include a director working with the additional secretary, apart from other officers, staff members and consultants. A staff member in the office of the secretary has been diagnosed as well.
At the weekly briefing Tuesday, Secretary Rajesh Bhushan dismissed as “hypothetical” reports of a ministry official having tested positive for a second time after recovery.
The standard operating procedure (SOP) for workplaces, issued by the Ministry of Health in June, said: “If there are one or two cases reported, the disinfection procedure will be limited to places/areas visited by the patient in past 48 hrs. There is no need to close the entire office building/halt work in other areas of the office and work can be resumed after disinfection as per laid down protocol.”
In case of a larger outbreak, however, “the building/block will have to be closed for 48 hours after thorough disinfection. All the staff will work from home, till the building/block is adequately disinfected and is declared fit for re-occupation”, the ministry said.
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New order issued
In an office memorandum issued Tuesday, the administrative department of the ministry reiterated the basic Covid-19 prevention measures — wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing and hand hygiene.
“All officers are advised to take care of their own health and to look out for symptoms such as fever, respiratory problem, dry cough, tiredness, sore throat, loss of taste or smell etc. and if feeling unwell should work from home and accordingly inform their reporting officers,” the guidelines add. “The employees who have given their samples for testing for Covid-19 may mandatorily inform the administration and not come to office till the results are available.”
All joint secretaries, directors, deputy secretaries of the ministry have been asked to advise the officers and staff working under them to strictly follow these guidelines in the “common fight against Covid-19”. They have been asked to ensure that all officers and staff who have symptoms or are unwell should not attend office, and ought to work from home.
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