NITI Aayog employee tests coronavirus positive, building sealed
The office of NITI Aayog, the government's think tank, was sealed on Tuesday for 48 hours after an employee tested positive for coronavirus. The results came out around 9 am today. All those who came in contact with the employee have been asked to self-quarantine themselves. Efforts have also been launched to trace those who might have contacted him. Here's more.
The body informed about this development related to the director-level official earlier in the day. "An employee working at NITI Bhavan has been detected positive with COVID-19. It was informed to the authorities at 9 am this morning. NITI Aayog is following all the due protocols necessary as per the Ministry of Health guidelines. The building has been sealed," a tweet read.
The think tank informed it was disinfecting and sanitizing the building. To note, NITI Aayog is leading a few of the 11 empowered groups that the government formed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Across India, 939 have lost their lives to the deadly disease.
NITI Aayog's is the second government building to be sealed off due to the pandemic. Earlier, the headquarters of civil aviation ministry in Jor Bagh was also sealed after an employee contracted the infection. The official tested positive on April 21 and he had attended the office on April 15. He took the test after he complained of throat pain.
While most of the companies are shut and employees are working from home due to the lockdown, government employees were asked to resume work. Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued guidelines saying there should be a 100% attendance of officers, who are above the deputy secretary level, as well as 33% attendance by junior staff. India's lockdown will end on May 3.
