Health Ministry shuts as 3 officers test +ve

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 5

The government’s office complex Nirman Bhavan that houses the Health Ministry will remain shut this weekend for disinfection after three officers tested positive for Covid-19 today.

Barring the Covid-19 emergency room, the rest of the ministry compound will be closed for sanitisation on Saturday and Sunday after an Under Secretary and Director-level officers were found positive for the virus.

More Health Ministry officials could be down with the disease, but the exact numbers are unclear.

District surveillance officers spent Friday tracing contacts of the positive officers, prompting the ministry to issue a strict memorandum to the staff that they were “not practising physical-distancing norms”. The memorandum asked all to wear masks, maintain one metre distance and not to loiter around corridors. “Only asymptomatic people will be allowed to enter the office; loitering and crowding of corridors must be avoided and gathering of five and more persons is prohibited. No meeting should be done physically. Only video conferences are permitted. Desks must be arranged in a zigzag manner so that two employees may not sit across,” it said.

The ministry also asked its officers to use stairs and avoid lifts and when using lifts, face walls instead of each other. “Not more than four persons are allowed in a lift at a time. The staff should avoid centralised air-conditioning, if possible,” the memorandum said, discouraging officials from having visitors.

The nationwide caseload touched 2,26,770 today with a record daily spike of 9,851, the highest so far in 24 hours. As of today 1,09,461 persons have been discharged with a 48.28 per cent recovery rate.